UK warns of more flight disruption

A British minister said yesterday specific information led to the grounding of several British Airways flights last week and warned more cancellations might be needed to prevent another September 11-style attack.

Transport Secretary Alistair Darling said British security services had received information that supported US intelligence.

"The threat that we now face is likely to endure for many years," he told BBC Radio. "We are dealing with a different order of magnitude of threat."

"There may occasionally, from time to time, be the need to ground a particular flight... but the vast majority of people will be able to fly in the normal way."

Intelligence information led to the cancellation of BA's Flight 223 from London to Washington on Friday for the second day in a row. The same flight was held outside Washington on Wednesday after fighter jets escorted it in.

Passengers were questioned, but no one was arrested. Yesterday, Flight 223 to Washington took off from London with a delay of more than three hours because of increased security measures, BA said.

"The flight was delayed due to a request from the security authorities in the United States to supply them with information about the flight," the spokeswoman said.

She said she was unable to elaborate further on what information the US authorities had requested.

Europe's biggest airline also scrapped yesterday's flight from London to Riyadh for security reasons, and its return today. A decision was pending on tomorrow's flight.

Asked whether British authorities had information about specific threats, Darling said: "Yes we do. And the reason that different flights are either grounded or there is increased security varies from time to time."

A British anti-terror police source told Reuters no arrests had been made or materials found in connection with the British Airways security alerts. The source said security at Heathrow, already at a high stage of alert, had not been increased.

The BA groundings bring the number of cancellations of US-bound international flights to seven since Christmas Eve.

Three Air France Los Angeles-Paris flights were grounded on December 24 and 25, and Air France's New York-Paris flight was diverted to Newfoundland on New Year's Day.

Aeromexico Flight 490 from Mexico City to Los Angeles was grounded on Wednesday and Thursday.

Worried about the possibility of another September 11-style attack, Washington is sharing more intelligence with other nations, has asked foreign airlines to put armed marshals on some flights and sent fighter jets to tail some incoming planes.

US officials have said they are uncertain whether they have yet succeeded in foiling a specific plot.

Security experts said governments preferred to act on flimsy information rather than risk blame after an attack.

"I think you have to understand the position governments are in politically. If, God forbid, something terrible happens and then it emerges they had information of a risk but did not do anything, they would be totally exposed politically," Kevin Rosser, terrorism analyst at London-based Control Risks Group, said.