03Jan04-CBS-Crying Wolf On Terrorism?
Jan 4, 2004 11:20 am US/Mountain
(CBS) Concerned with terrorism threats in the air and on the ground, the British government delayed a London-to-Washington flight for three hours – after canceling the flight altogether for two days in a row.
CBS News Correspondent Joie Chen reports Flight 223 only carried half it's typical passenger load, raising the questions: How many more flights can the airlines afford to cancel? How long can this level of scrutiny and security go on?
Even as they demonstrated stepped up security at their airports, foreign governments expressed frustration with U.S. demands for greater scrutiny of their flights.
Terrorism expert Paul Beaver tell Chen, "We've got to the stage in Western Europe where nobody actually takes any notice of American alerts anymore because there's so many of them."
One French police official said that bad U.S. intelligence information resulted in six cancellations from Paris' Charles De Gaulle airport.
The New York Times reported in its Saturday editions that the cancellation of the British Airways flights was not in response to U.S. safety concerns, but was prompted by the refusal of British pilots to fly with armed marshals on board.
The British government has declined to provide details of its security concerns about Flight 223. The department said it took action Saturday following discussions “with a variety of sources,” including U.S. authorities.
The plane had the all-clear earlier from Britain's Transport Department. The subsequent checks added to the misery of passengers on a flight also detained in Washington on Wednesday and canceled Thursday and Friday.
A British Airways morning flight to Washington D.C. left on schedule earlier Saturday.
“There was a lot of security but we felt it was necessary due the sensitivity of what was going on here,” passenger Joel Ginsburg told WTTG-TV in Washington. He said there was nervousness among passengers, “but the BA people were very good and reassured us the security was tight as a drum and we were going to go for it.”
“It was somber,” he said of the preflight mood in London. “It was like you could hear a pin drop in the gate area.”
But he said applause broke out after the big jet landed.
“It was a little bit scary there (in London),” passenger Jim McCutchan told WRC-TV. “There were about four or five guards at the gate, it looked like carrying AK-47s. It looked like they really meant it. It was a real serious situation.”
British Transport Secretary Alistair Darling on Sunday warned travelers to expect an increased number of security alerts.
“We are going to have to get used to increased security at airports. From time to time that will be noticeable and at other times maybe things will be going on behind the scenes,” Darling told the British Broadcasting Corp. program “Breakfast with Frost.”
Other routes under scrutiny during the code orange alert in the United States were London-Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Mexico City-Los Angeles.
The United States is working closely with other countries to lessen the threat of terrorism on international flights.
South Korea's national police agency, responding to American requests for international cooperation, said it would have armed officers on individual U.S.-bound flights if warranted, based on information about a terrorist threat to any specific flight.
Homeland Security Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse said Saturday that authorities have been discussing security with the National Football League and the National Collegiate Athletic Association during the playoff and college bowl season.
NFL playoff games Saturday were in Baltimore and Charlotte, North Carolina, with contests Sunday in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and Indianapolis. There were weekend bowl games in Boise, Idaho, and New Orleans.
NFL spokesman Joe Browne said security has been tight since the Sept. 11 attacks, and air space over stadiums is restricted by federal legislation. He said security for the Super Bowl, Feb. 1 in Houston, would be even more intense because of the international attention the event receives.
(© 2003 CBS Worldwide Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report. )http://news4colorado.com/topstories/topstories_story_004100900.html |
