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| Britain |
| British Airways Cancels 3 U.S. Flights |
| 2004-01-31 |
| Hat tip to Drudge, EFL British Airways (BAB) has canceled three flights from Heathrow Airport to Washington, D.C., and Miami because of government security concerns, the airline said Saturday. Flight 223 to Washington’s Dulles airport will not fly on Sunday or Monday, but is to depart on schedule at 3:05 p.m. local time Saturday, said an airline spokeswoman. U.S. officials said Friday that new intelligence indicated Flight 223 and Air France flights from Paris to an unspecified U.S. city could be terrorist targets. What’s with this flight 223? Flight 207 to Miami will not fly on Sunday, she said, but had departed Saturday morning. The spokeswoman, who declined to be identified, said BA had canceled the flights on the advice of the British government. She cited security fears but gave no further details. "The safety and security of our operations is our absolute priority and will not be compromised," the airline said. More at link |
| Posted by:Gasse Katze |
| #12 The things one learns on Rantburg. I Googled on 'Pommy Bastards' and got 907 hits. A lot than I ever wanted to know on the subject. |
| Posted by: Gasse Katze 2004-1-31 8:19:29 PM |
| #11 Before they cancelled the flight, they tried to flush the terrorists out with a age-old ploy. "Now bording rows 23, 35 and 40..." |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-1-31 7:25:00 PM |
| #10 Rawsnacks, if the worry was about a SAM shot, all flights would have been cancelled. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-1-31 7:22:41 PM |
| #9 Short for Pommy, a slightly derisive term for the British, used by Australians. Actually, it's Pommy Bastards! The Pommy part comes from the pom-pom thing British Army officers used to wear on the Hats. |
| Posted by: analog roam 2004-1-31 5:14:50 PM |
| #8 #7 Poms??? Short for Pommy, a slightly derisive term for the British, used by Australians. Ed "I taught an Aussie student once" Becerra |
| Posted by: Ed Becerra 2004-1-31 4:31:41 PM |
| #7 Poms??? |
| Posted by: Raptor 2004-1-31 4:03:25 PM |
| #6 Anon: because if you do that and the terrorists happen to have succeeded in smuggling a weapon on board, innocents could die. Given that Poms are involved (proper "victims", you see), the idea is quite possible. Don't know about the French tho. Would they fight back or not? I wonder if it's still about armed air marshals... No question where the Poms are concerned. Otherwise, they wouldn't have cancelled the flights. It's that fear of firearms, you know... |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-1-31 2:54:44 PM |
| #5 UPDATE: - British Airways (BAB) and Air France on Saturday announced the cancellation of seven flights to and from the United States because of security concerns. BA canceled four flights between Heathrow Airport and Washington on Sunday and Monday and one from Heathrow to Miami on Sunday. Air France canceled two Paris-to-Washington flights. There are no plans to raise the terror alert in the United States because of the latest threats, Homeland Security Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse said. |
| Posted by: Gasse Katze 2004-1-31 2:13:25 PM |
| #4 Who says the plan was for terrorists to be on the plane? or near the airport? |
| Posted by: Rawsnacks 2004-1-31 1:52:19 PM |
| #3 I wonder if it's still about armed air marshals... |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2004-1-31 1:44:25 PM |
| #2 Anon: because if you do that and the terrorists happen to have succeeded in smuggling a weapon on board, innocents could die. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2004-1-31 1:02:42 PM |
| #1 I don't get it. Why not load up the plane, get it out on the tarmac, then nab your suspects ? |
| Posted by: Anonynoony 2004-1-31 11:11:30 AM |