Delayed Washington flight finally flies

Passengers reportedly “punched the air and cheered” as the delayed flight BA 223 finally flew to Washington yesterday – but air travellers are being warned they could face similar delays for years to come. The flight, which had twice been postponed because of security fears, finally took off three hours late on Saturday, with extra security causing an extra one-hour delay on arrival in the United States. However, the UK Home Secretary Alistair Darling said similar delays and cancellations could be expected for years to come, insisting that the cancellation of the Washington flights as well as one to Saudi Arabia were justified because of “intelligence warnings”. He reportedly told the BBC1 Breakfast With Frost show: “I fear that for many years we are going to be living in an age where there is going to be a heightened state of alert. Sometimes it will be quite severe, at other times perhaps less so. We are going to have to get used to increased security at airports.”