No need for air marshals - SAA

2003-12-31 12:42

Johannesburg - South African Airways (SAA) sees no need to place air marshals on board its flights because it believes its security is satisfactory, a spokesperson for the national carrier said in comments reported on Wednesday.

Rich Mkhondo said the airline had told US authorities it believed there was no need for marshals following a US demand for armed guards on foreign planes when US officials deem a terrorist threat exists.

"After receiving the directive on Monday, we wrote to the US, saying we believed security should be taken care of on the ground before a plane's departure," Mkhondo said.

"We don't need additional security in the sky and believed that with our partners, the Airports Company of South Africa and the Civil Aviation Authority, we have satisfied all their security requirements," he told The Star newspaper.

On Monday, US Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge issued an emergency directive that foreign carriers put armed police on flights where US officials deemed there was a terrorist risk.

The announcement came eight days after US officials heightened a nationwide attack alert, citing intelligence that Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network wanted to stage an even bigger strike than the September 11, 2001 attacks.

- AFP