Reassurance given on airport security
The reassurance came as a Swedish man was yesterday charged with attempting to hijack a Ryanair plane and illegal possession of a handgun.
The 29-year-old, originally from Tunisia, was arrested as he tried to board a Ryanair flight to London Stansted at Vaesteraas Airport, north of the Swedish capital Stockholm, on Thursday.
Security officers found the weapon in the man’s hand luggage.
The attempted hijacking comes little over a week before the first anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks.
It is believed the Swede was among a group of 20 heading for a conference at the Salafi Bookstore and Islamic Centre in Birmingham.
Swedish police spokesman Ulf Palm said, “We believe he was going to hijack the plane.”
The gun was discovered in the suspect’s toilet bag in his hand luggage as passengers passed through security, Mr Palm said. He said that police at this stage were not prepared to say whether the weapon was loaded.
Asked about possible terrorist links to the incident, Mr Palm said, “We can’t rule that out and that is something we’re looking into.”
Swedish police yesterday flew in terrorist experts from Britain to help in the questioning of the man. A Swedish news agency yesterday quoted intelligence officials as saying the man appeared to be mentally disturbed. The man has a criminal record, including convictions for theft and assault.
He has been charged with attempting to hijack a plane and illegal possession of a handgun and is likely to appear in court early next week.
The man was trying to board Ryanair flight FR685, a Boeing 737-800 with around 189 passengers. A Ryanair spokeswoman could not confirm if any Irish people were on board. The flight was delayed for hours while bomb squad officers searched all passengers and their luggage.
The Ryanair spokeswoman said, “We have the most stringent security measures in operation and, unlike some carriers, we demand photographic identification even on UK domestic flights.”
A spokeswoman for Aer Rianta, which operates the country’s three airports at Dublin, Shannon and Cork, said the same systems in the Swedish airport were in place here.
“Certainly we have the measures in place to deal with the issue if it arises,” she said.
“Obviously, since September 11 security has been enhanced and continues to be. We have both visible and invisible security, which obviously we can’t give too much detail about.
“You don’t want to be exposing all your systems, because people might try and beat them.”
