UK: Controversial plan gets green light despite airlines’ concerns
The Transport Secretary Alistair Darling has stated that armed “sky marshals” could be used on British flights – despite further warnings from airlines that the plan is flawed.
As reported by News From Abroad, most airlines condemned the idea when it was first raised shortly after the 11 September 2001 terror attacks, even if the Israeli airline El Al has been using armed guards on board for some 30 years. But Darling confirmed that a group of marshals have already been trained – even if he would not say if any have so far been deployed on flights.
Meanwhile, the Foreign Office has updated its advice for Morocco, in the light of the weekend’s attacks in Casablanca, which killed more than 40 people. Its advice reads: “You should maintain a high level of vigilance in public places such as hotels, restaurants and shopping malls and exercise good security practice.”
The Foreign Office website, at www.fco.gov.uk/travel, also gives new warnings for Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Tanzania and Uganda, stating that there is a “clear” of “high” threat of terrorism in these countries.
