Governments should fit airline security bill

European governments, not airlines, should foot the bill for upgrading air security in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, a leading lobbyist claimed today.

Association of European Airlines chairman and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines NV president and CEO Leo van Wijk made the call.

"In the United States, it's the government picks up the bill," Wijk told a symposium in Brussels on air travel security, adding that European companies will be "at a major disadvantage" without government assistance.

In the US, he said $3.1 billion in government funding has been made available to the US airline industry since Sept 11, including for instance $100 million just for making cockpit doors more secure.