Airlines worried over hoax bomb threats in Europe

Airline Industry Information, Oct 6, 2004

AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION-(C)1997-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

A series of bomb threats across Europe in late September and early October 2004 has seen at least six flights diverted, costing airlines money and also upsetting already congested schedules.

In the nine days since 26 September 2004 - when the first in the series of hoax threats was made - flights operated by Olympic Airlines, United Airlines, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines and British Airways have all been targeted, causing emergency landings to be made in the UK, Ireland, Corfu and Cyprus.

A number of calls have originated in Germany, leading authorities to believe that one person may be responsible for the majority of the hoax threats with 'copy-cats' responsible for the rest. Making emergency landings costs airlines hundreds of thousands of dollars due to them having to dump fuel and then re-fuel at the emergency destination and even put passengers up in hotels.

Aviation security writer Chris Yates has said that airlines have little choice but to land the aircraft until airport security becomes water tight, yet Issy Boim, president of Air Security International, said that airlines need to draw up a confidential set of standards that a threat much reach before an aircraft is grounded to minimise the effect hoaxers can have, reports The Associated Press.

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