Air marshals to travel on British transatlantic flights

Airline Industry Information, Dec 29, 2003

AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION-(C)1997-2003 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

The British government has announced that air marshals may be used on some flights to and from the United States.

It was not revealed whether the security officers would be armed, but reports said that they were likely to carry guns.

The measure is said to be in response to the increased terror alert in the US, and follows Australia's announcement that armed sky marshals would fly on some Qantas flights between Australia and Singapore and may also be used on flights to the US.

The British Airline Pilots Association has expressed concern over the plan and said that it did not want guns taken on to flights.

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