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Saturday, August 12, 2006

NAIA on terrorist alert

Security tightened following foiled attempt to bomb flights from UK
By Jonathan M. Hicap, Reporter

Ninoy Aquino International Airport, the country’s premier gateway, was placed on high alert Friday following the discovery of a plot in the United Kingdom to blow off planes bound for the United States. Going by the emergency advisory of the US Department of Homeland Security, the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) tightened security measures for all passengers bound for the US. The US government has raised its threat level to Severe, or Rea, for commercial flights originating from the UK and bound for the US. All other flights bound for the US have a threat level of High, or Orange. US-bound passengers are prohibited from putting liquids or gels in their hand-carried luggage, but these items can be checked in, according to a memorandum from Police Supt. Rizalino Roxas, chief of operations of the MIAA Airport Security Center. Robert Uy, MIAA head executive assistant, said other security measures such as frisking are still in place. Airlines have also issued similar security advisories. Security forces guarding the country’s other airports were also on full alert to thwart attacks by al-Qaeda-linked Islamic militants. “It’s a precaution . . . it’s better to fear, so you have a high level of alertness, than to be complacent. This can blow up in our faces,” the National Security Adviser, Secretary Norberto Gonzales, said in an interview in Camp Aguinaldo. In Camp Crame the Philippine National Police’s Deputy Chief for Administration, Deputy Director General Avelino Razon, said the Aviation Security Group was placed on full alert right after the attempt to blow up planes from Britain was reported. Earlier in the day, President Arroyo called on the people to be extraordinarily vigilant, but said she was not ordering the police and the military to raise their alert levels.Palace spokesman Ignacio Bunye said that while the government understands the danger posed by the disrupted threat, the government is confident the Armed Forces and police authorities could safeguard the people.Around the world, airlines were struggling on Friday to recover from the chaos caused after the discovery of a plot to bomb flights from Britain to the United States. Passengers were facing delays and tighter checks as authorities imposed stricter security measures while trying to clear a backlog of thousands of air travelers who were stranded when flights were canceled on Thursday. New restrictions on hand luggage were causing flights heading to the United States to be delayed, forcing passengers to empty their carry-on bags and pack the contents into luggage they were checking in to the hold. European airports said that while flight schedules to Britain were slowly returning to normal, flights from Heathrow Airport were still experiencing delays. British Airways canceled all its short-haul flights to Europe and Tripoli on Thursday after the plot was uncovered, but said on its website it “expects to operate the vast majority of its flights on Friday.”Passengers at airports from Asia to Africa were also facing delays owing to the introduction of new guidelines, which banned products such as shampoos and deodorants from being brought on to planes. The US Department of Homeland Security posted notices at Hong Kong airport saying passengers could not carry “liquids or gels of any size at the screening checkpoint or in the cabin of the aircraft.”Travelers forced to repack their bags at Hong Kong said they understood the need for the increased security. Michael Rollings, a 42-year-old businessman from Chicago, said: “They let me keep my Aspirin but I’ve just lost my deodorant and my toothpaste. It is a small price to pay for preventing terrorist acts. “I’m happy to be traveling today. We can’t let these punks affect our everyday lives.” European airlines said their services to London were getting back on track, although they faced a logistic nightmare as people who were unable to fly on Thursday clamored for seats on flights. A spokesman for Frankfurt Airport in Germany, one of Europe’s busiest, said “traffic has returned to normal.”The German carrier Lufthansa, forced to cancel dozens of flights on Thursday, said it was advising passengers they had to comply with the stringent new regulations. In Madrid the Iberia Airline said it was switching its biggest aircraft, the Airbus 340-600, capable of carrying 400 passengers, on to flights between Spain and Britain in an attempt to clear the backlog. Paris’ main Charles de Gaulle Airport said flights to the United States and Britain were experiencing some delays, but planes were taking off. At another busy European hub, Amsterdam’s Schiphol, authorities said delays and cancellations were still affecting flights early in the day. “Things are only slowly getting back on track,” a spokeswoman said. --With Anthony Vargas, Sam Mediavilla and AFP

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