Terror delays BA flight

2004-01-04 15:23

Larry Margasak

Washington - Concerned with terrorism threats in the air and on the ground, the British government delayed a London-to-Washington flight for three hours and US officials monitored heavily secured stadiums hosting the first round of football playoffs.

British Airways 223, the most scrutinized flight since the United States declared a high terrorism alert on December 21, lifted off from Heathrow Airport just after 13:00 on Saturday after intensive security checks and landed safely near Washington about eight hours later.

It took nearly an hour for all the passengers to get off the plane and make it to the terminal area at Dulles International Airport in suburban Virginia.

"There was a lot of security but we felt it was necessary due the sensitivity of what was going on here," passenger Joel Ginsburg told WTTG-TV in Washington. He said there was nervousness among passengers, "but the BA people were very good and reassured us the security was tight as a drum and we were going to go for it."

"It was sombre," he said of the preflight mood in London. "It was like you could hear a pin drop in the gate area."

But he said applause broke out after the big jet landed.

"It was a little bit scary there (in London)," passenger Jim McCutchan told WRC-TV. "There were about four or five guards at the gate, it looked like carrying AK-47s. It looked like they really meant it. It was a real serious situation."

The plane had the all-clear earlier from Britain's Transport Department. The subsequent checks added to the misery of passengers on a flight also detained in Washington on Wednesday and cancelled on Thursday and Friday.

The British government has declined to provide details of its security concerns about the flight. The department said it took action Saturday following discussions "with a variety of sources," including US authorities.

A British Airways morning flight to Washington DC left on schedule at 05:55 on Saturday.

British Transport Secretary Alistair Darling on Sunday warned travellers to expect an increased number of security alerts.

"We are going to have to get used to increased security at airports. From time to time that will be noticeable and at other times maybe things will be going on behind the scenes," Darling told the British Broadcasting Corp programme "Breakfast with Frost."

Other routes under scrutiny during the code orange alert in the United States were London-Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Mexico City-Los Angeles.

The United States is working closely with other countries to lessen the threat of terrorism on international flights.

- SAPA