Armed officers to guard UK passenger flights

Final preparations were today being made for the deployment of armed sky marshals on some British passenger planes in response to the heightened state of alert in the US.

The British government announced the initiative yesterday as part of a series of extra security measures for air travel following the raised terror threat.

According to some reports, the armed marshals could be operating on flights as early as this week.

The government said it was “a responsible and prudent step” to introduce the marshals who would be deployed “where appropriate” and be dressed as ordinary passengers.

But the decision sparked an angry reaction among pilots who were concerned about the dangers posed by weapons on planes.

The British Airline Pilots Association (Balpa) said it would advise members who were not comfortable with the initiative not to fly their planes.

Balpa general-secretary Jim McAuslan said: “We cannot agree with the government’s decision to put armed guards on aircraft as we believe this will do more harm than good.

“We do not want guns on planes.”

The introduction of sky marshals is the most significant measure in a general government drive to step-up aviation safety.

The British Department of Transport refused to confirm details of other changes but possible measures include increased screening and searching at airports and better protection for the aircraft on the ground.

Passengers may experience longer delays as a result of the increased security levels, the government said.

Home Secretary David Blunkett said the initiative was a “proportionate and appropriate level of response” to a “real and serious” threat.

He reassured travellers that the situation was not so serious that they should be afraid to fly.

The US raised security levels last week amid fears of a new terror threat to aviation. The UK response is in line with the increase in American security.

The government said the extra measures were for British airline operations in the US. It said air marshals could be deployed “where and when” they were believed to be necessary.

Plans to introduce sky marshals on UK passenger planes were first announced last December following a review of in-flight security measures.

The specially-trained, armed police officers aim to thwart any attempted terrorist takeover of the cockpit during a flight.

US aviation was put on high alert following reports last week that a US city was the target of a suspected plot to turn a French airliner into a missile.

Air France cancelled several transatlantic passenger flights after officials passed on “credible” security threats involving passengers scheduled to fly to Los Angeles on flights from Paris.