Britain sought on Tuesday to allay fears about putting sky marshals on commercial airliners, saying it is a “responsible and prudent step” in the face of the threat of global terrorism.
“There is an increased threat and we have to deal with that in a balanced and proportionate way,” Transport Secretary Alistair Darling told the British Parliament, nine days after the deployment of British sky marshals was announced.
The British pilots’ union, Balpa, has recoiled at the plan, and the country’s biggest airline, British Airways, is also reported to be cool to the idea, believing it would be better just to cancel a flight that might be at risk.
In the past six days British Airways has, on government advice, cancelled a total of four flights to Riyadh and Washington, amid fears of an attempt to repeat the September 11 attacks in the United States in 2001.
Thomas Cook Airlines, a major British holiday charter carrier, on Monday became the first carrier to announce that it will refuse to carry sky marshals on its flights to the US.
Britain and the US both remain on a heightened state of alert against a terrorist strike, possibly carried out by Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda network or an associated group.
Darling told the House of Commons that the first line of defence against terror in the skies is to make security on the ground as tight as possible, and that that has been done at airports all over Britain.
“Sky marshals are one part of a whole raft of measures we have put in place to try to stop someone trying to take over an aircraft,” he said, adding that this was a “responsible and prudent” measure.
He refused to give details of where and when sky marshals are operating, due to security reasons, but added that their deployment — announced on December 28 — will be kept under review.
“It is likely that this state of alert will last for some considerable time,” he said. “It is a consequence of the age in which we live.”
Darling, who was to meet later on Tuesday with Balpa representatives, said he understood pilots’ concerns, but stressed that British sky marshals will be “highly trained” and will not outrank the flight deck crew.
The US served notice last week that it might bar some international flights into its airspace if there are no armed plainclothes sky marshals on board.
Sky marshals are already used in several countries, including the US, Israel and Canada.
Opposition Conservative transport spokesperson Teresa May accused Prime Minister Tony Blair’s government of not fully consulting airlines or pilots before deploying sky marshals.
“There is some suggestion that the government decision was only taken because of pressure from the US government,” she said in Parliament.
Speaking on BBC radio, Balpa general secretary Jim McAuslan — whose union represents 7 000 pilots — said on Tuesday that the sky marshal issue was a matter of safety, not a labour grievance.
“We have requirements under the law of this land to only take off if we are sure that the flight can fly safely,” he said. “At present, with the unknown risks involved in sky marshals, we don’t know.”
He also said it has yet to be proven that low-velocity ammunition — which sky marshals are supposed to load into their pistols — could be fired safely within the cabin of a pressurised airplane.
Balpa has called for an international conference to discuss sky marshals and safety. — AFP