South African Airways (SAA) passengers flying from the United Kingdom back home will be subjected to strict security screenings and the carriage of normal cabin luggage will not be allowed after United Kingdom police thwarted a plot to blow up aircraft in mid-flight. SAA has also warned of inevitable delays.
Police in the UK arrested 21 people, and the country’s security-threat level was raised from ”severe” to ”critical”. The aim of the alleged plot was to detonate bombs smuggled on board aircraft in hand luggage.
A statement released by SAA spokesperson Jacqui O’Sullivan on Thursday said SAA passengers can expect longer security processing times when travelling from London following the implementation of additional security measures by UK aviation authorities.
SAA expects these added security measures to slow processing times and advise that delays are inevitable. Passengers are being asked to allow themselves plenty of extra time to check in for flights from the UK.
British Airways passengers have been banned from carrying any hand luggage on board flights, including cellphones and handbags, airlines and airport authorities said.
All liquids are banned on board except for essential medicines. Milk for babies will be allowed on board but must be tasted by the accompanying passenger, the British Airports Authority (BAA) said in a statement.
BAA, which operates three of London’s biggest airports, including Heathrow, said all passengers will be hand-searched, and their footwear and all items they carry will be X-rayed. It added that all passengers on flights to the US will be subject to a secondary search at the boarding gate.
Johannesburg International airport spokesperson Solomon Makgale told the Mail & Guardian Online the airport is monitoring the situation, and it has informed the relative stakeholders and security personnel.
”We haven’t upped security. We will upon instruction from the civil aviation authority,” he said.
Worldwide disruption
Air travel to and from Britain was plunged into chaos on Thursday. Many airlines said they were cancelling all flights to Britain and to the epicentre of the threat, London’s Heathrow, one of the world’s busiest airports.
The inter-connected nature of international air travel meant that the disruption was rippling out across the world.
British Airways said it was stopping all inbound and outbound short-haul European flights from Heathrow, its hub, until 2pm GMT.
”British Airways, along with all other airlines, is experiencing major disruption to its operations at London Heathrow … because of the severe airport congestion, following the introduction of new security arrangements,” the airline said.
Lufthansa of Germany said it was pulling all flights to Britain until 3pm GMT, while Spain’s Iberia said none of its flights to Heathrow would take off until noon GMT.
Alitalia grounded all flights to Britain and aviation authorities in The Netherlands said they were cancelling all flights to Heathrow until at least 3pm GMT.
French airline Air France said it had cancelled its three morning flights from Paris to London due to over-saturation at London Heathrow airport and was to review the situation at noon GMT.
Six British-bound flights from the Mediterranean city of Nice — four operated by British Airways and two by the low-cost carrier easyJet — were also cancelled, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded, the airport said.
Turkish Airways said it was scrapping all of its flights to Heathrow and Greek carrier Olympic Airlines advised passengers travelling to Britain to expect cancellations.
Airports in Denmark and Sweden also increased security and suspended flights to London.
In Asia, airlines said they were waiting for further information and that it was highly possible they would have to cancel flights to Britain.
A spokesperson for Japan’s All Nippon Airlines said a flight that left from Tokyo for Heathrow at 2.40am GMT might have to land at a different airport.
Japan Airlines, Asia’s largest airline, said two flights to Heathrow took off — one from Tokyo and the other from Osaka. Thai Airways said one of its flights took off for Heathrow at about 5am GMT.
Other flights to London were to leave Bangkok at about 5pm GMT and so far none had been delayed or cancelled, a spokesperson said.
Airport officials and travel agents in China reported no cancellations or delays of flights although Hong Kong’s flag carrier, Cathay Pacific, warned of delays going to London but said there were no plans to cancel any of its four daily flights.
Other African airlines were also affected. A spokesperson for Kenya Airways said it would comply with requests from the British authorities to introduce new restrictions on hand luggage.
”We are putting in security plans starting today. At this point in time it will be on all flights out of London. We are still going through the plans but no hand luggage will be allowed into flights out of London,” said Michael Okwiri, a London-based spokesperson for the airline.