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| Britain |
| Phone ringing turns airplane back to UK; terror threat downgraded |
| 2006-08-13 |
| Delays continued to affect travellers at London's airports on Sunday The terror threat to the UK has been downgraded from critical to severe. The Home Office said the decision had been made because an attack was "highly likely" but no longer "imminent". The change in the threat level means the ban on taking hand luggage on to flights from the UK has been lifted although some restrictions remain. Meanwhile a British Airways flight from Heathrow to New York has been turned back because a mobile phone, which were banned at the time, was on board. The British Airways flight was turned back after a mobile phone was heard ringing at the back of the plane. No one on board admitted owning the phone so flight BA179 with 217 passengers on board returned to Heathrow as a precautionary measure. A businessman who was among the passengers told BBC News 24: "When the plane took off a mobile phone started ringing. "One and a half hours later the captain made the decision, having spoken to his company, that we need to come back. He dumped fuel and we're now back at Heathrow." BA apologise for the inconvenience but said "safety is our number one priority and we will always err on the side of caution". Before the restrictions were changed, travellers had been told to expect more cancellations and delays at UK airports. Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott visited Stansted airport to see how the security measures were being put into practice. |
| Posted by:lotp |
| #1 but don't you profile the receiver, dammit! It could've been any Catholic, Hindu, or Esquimeaux.... |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-08-13 22:01 |