UK pilots agree to use of sky marshals

The pilots’ union Balpa has come to an agreement with the Government over the use of sky marshals, but several European countries have stated that they will not comply with the wishes of United States authorities. As reported by News From Abroad, the union has stated that it opposes the use of armed police on flights, but following a meeting between Transport Minister Alistair Darling and union leaders yesterday, it appears that an agreement is in place – even if the finer details have not yet been agreed. According to The Independent newspaper, cabin crews will expect to be told when there are sky marshals on board flights, and the plane’s pilot will remain in overall control of the flight. Balpa is also reported to have come to an agreement with Virgin Atlantic, while it is still negotiating with British Airways. Thomas Cook Airlines is still saying that it will ground flights if sky marshals are on board. The newspaper reports, however, that the talks broke up before the agreement of a “golden protocol” on how the marshals should operate, and that Balpa still wants rules to be established relating to the type of weapons used and the training required to use them. Further negotiations are taking place today. And while agreement seems to have been reached in the UK, four more European countries – Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Portugal – are refusing to use sky marshals, stating that they would cancel flights if there was a known security risk. By way of contrast, France has already used specially-trained marshals on some flights, while the same has been true on some Canadian flights across the Atlantic.