The British Airports Authority (BAA) said on Thursday it had requested that all in-bound flights from Europe into London’s Heathrow airport be cancelled temporarily.
Police in the United Kingdom said earlier in the day they had thwarted a plot to blow up aircraft in mid-flight, arresting a number of people in the London area.
Britain raised its security-threat level to ”critical”, which means it expects an attack imminently. The Home Office website showed the rating was raised to ”critical” from ”severe” earlier on Thursday. Police said the aim of the plot was to detonate bombs smuggled on board aircraft in hand luggage.
A BAA spokesperson said flights that had already taken off would not be affected but it was requesting airlines to cancel all flights bound for Heathrow later on Thursday.
BAA warned passengers to stay away from Heathrow and warned of severe delays following heightened security after a bomb threat.
British Airways (BA) warned earlier that it was experiencing serious delays to operations and would likely cancel some of its flights during the day.
”British Airways is experiencing severe delays to its operations on Thursday August 10 as a result of the current security situation,” the carrier said in a statement. ”It is likely that some flights will be cancelled during the day. Any customers who do not need to travel today are advised to stay at home.”
BA has also placed restrictions on hand-luggage items — banning handbags, contact-lens solutions and cases for eye glasses.
BA passengers deciding against travel on Thursday are entitled to refunds, the airline added.
All flights from Brussels International airport to London were cancelled until further notice, a spokesperson for the airport said on Thursday.
”This is a result of the security situation in the UK and if flights do resume, passengers can expect delays as security has been stepped up,” the spokesperson said.
The US government has raised the security-threat level for aviation following Britain’s announcement of the foiled plot. It said security checks will be intensified and no liquids will be allowed on airplanes, including beverages, hair gels and lotions.
Germany’s Lufthansa cancelled flights to the UK until later on Thursday, the carrier said.
Greece’s Olympic Airlines said all its flights to British airports had been grounded until noon local time on Thursday following the security threat in London, a company official said. ”All of our flights have now been grounded until at least noon. This concerns all airports that we fly to in Britain,” an Olympic Airlines official said.
Australian carrier Qantas Airlines said it is limiting carry-on luggage for its flights from Britain and banning liquids on United States-bound flights in line with temporary new security measures.
Qantas said passengers can only carry items such as wallets and travel documents in clear plastic bags on the four daily services it operates from London’s Heathrow airport. Liquids will be confiscated from passengers on US-bound flights, it said.
The alleged terror plot foiled by British police was designed to ”bring down a number of aircraft through mid-flight explosions, causing a considerable loss of life”, British Home Secretary John Reid said Thursday.
The plot disrupted by Scotland Yard was ”very significant” and the authorities believed it to ”be a major threat to the UK and international partners”, Reid said.
The operation would mean major disruption at all airports throughout the United Kingdom, he said.
However, he added: ”As far as is possible we want people to go about their business as normal.” — Sapa-AFP, Reuters