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Post Info TOPIC: AIRCRAFT BOMBING PLOT DISRUPTED: Scotland Yard (Heathrow in chaos)
karatecatman


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US refuses to blame Al-Qaeda for US-bound planes plot
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US refuses to blame Al-Qaeda for US-bound planes plot
 Washington, Aug 16 (UNI)


The United States has refused to blame Al-Qaeda for a plot to explode US-bound airliners which Britain claimed it had thwarted last week.
 ‘‘It looks like something Al-Qaeda would do,’’ White House spokesman Tony Snow said yesterday, speaking to reporters after President George W. Bush visited the US National Counter-Terrorism Center (NCTC) in McLean, Virginia, a suburb of Washington.
 ‘‘But our intelligence, at this point, does not permit us to say with confidence that that was the case,’’ Snow said.
 Snow acknowledged there have been public accusations of Al-Qaeda for the plot, which Britain said Thursday it had foiled, and reports of foreign governments blaming the terrorist network.
 ‘‘Before we actually claim Al-Qaeda, we want to make sure that we ... could prove it to you,’’ Snow said.
 On Monday Bush himself had cautiously echoed the remarks of his Homeland Security secretary, Michael Chertoff, who last week said the plot bore the hallmarks of Al-Qaeda.
 ‘‘It looks like the kind of thing Al-Qaeda would do,’’ Bush said after working meetings on national security.
 But, he added: ‘‘I’m not going to say it until we have absolute proof.’’ 



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UK terror plot: airport operator under pressure
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UK terror plot: airport operator under pressure 
By Dan Milmo in London
Copyright Observer News


London, Aug 16


BAA, the UK airport owner criticised for having insufficient staffing levels throughout the air travel crisis, has admitted its London-Heathrow base needs hundreds more staff to cope with new security guidelines.
 The company has started hiring extra staff at the world’s busiest international airport, as the first day of a new security regime saw further flight cancellations. BAA is increasing staff levels as it emerged that another disruption blamed on the company - the breakdown in baggage screening at its seven UK airports - led to British Airways passengers losing 10,000 pieces of baggage.
 Tony Douglas, chief executive of Heathrow, said that the much-criticised BAA response to the crisis had been ‘‘fantastic, given the magnitude of what has happened’’. However, he said the airport would need to add to its 4,000 employees in order to sustain new security check procedures. ‘‘We need to look with real urgency at what the consequences of sustaining the current security level will be. We have already started the process to get more staff.’’
 Mr Douglas rejected airline criticism of its response to the crisis, led by the British Airways chief executive, Willie Walsh, who said Heathrow terminals had queues ‘‘like a bad dream at Disneyland’’.
 Mr Douglas said: ‘‘Heathrow is not blessed with spare capacity as most people know. There is no 50% of spare space or 100% spare staff waiting for a crisis. It’s not realistic.’’
 The Heathrow boss said there would be an internal inquiry into BAA’s operations at the airport, as part of normal procedure when emergency measures are put in place. BAA added in a statement that it ‘‘acutely regretted’’ the cancellations and delays across its operations.
 Heathrow suffered further disruption yesterday (AUG15) as the airport implemented new security measures that reduced the number of body searches from all passengers to one in two. Flyers were also allowed to carry one small item of hand luggage on to planes. BAA said 95% of scheduled flights went ahead, as British Airways cancelled 41 departures, with slightly less cancellations expected today.
 The first day of the new security regime at Heathrow saw overspill marquees still in use outside Terminal 4, the site for most of BA’s international flights. By 7.30am most of the tents were filled with people as BA employees held passengers outside the airport until their flight was called.
 Ryanair, which operates from BAA-owned London-Stansted airport, cancelled eight flights and accused its landlord of ‘‘chronic inability to staff security facilities’’ as it alleged that only four out of 14 checkpoints were operating yesterday morning. BA cancelled 11 flights at Gatwick and expects to cancel the same number today.
 The Federation of Tour Operators called for an independent inquiry. ‘‘We feel let down ... by inconsistent airport policies, clearly inadequate staffing arrangements and lack of rehearsed contingency planning which have made this serious situation far worse for customers,’’ it said.
 British Airways said passengers had been separated from 10,000 pieces of baggage, with 5,000 bags intended for domestic and international flights still to be returned. ‘‘We are doing absolutely everything we can to reconcile passengers and bags as quickly as possible.’’
 BA is sending planes and lorries around the country and Europe in order to return the stray bags. The airline also sent a cargo plane to New York to retrieve bags which were lost when BAA’s systems for screening baggage were overwhelmed by the increased volume from the temporary ban on hand luggage, which was lifted this week.
 Police said theft from hold baggage at London-Gatwick had increased by 200% since new security measures, which included an edict that all iPods and mobile phones must be stowed in the hold, were put in place.
 



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karatecatman


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Airlines begin to count cost of terror alert
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Airlines begin to count cost of terror alert


By JANE WARDELL


Copyright Observer News 


LONDON, Aug 16  


As the immediate security threat at British airports wanes, airlines are beginning to count the multimillion pound (euro; dollar) cost of the terrorist alert — and consider who should pay.


British Airways PLC on Tuesday led a growing campaign against the British Airports Authority, which many carriers claim was ill-prepared for the emergency that led to hundreds of canceled or delayed flights.


A joint compensation claim against BAA, which operates seven airports around Britain including London’s Heathrow, Stansted and Gatwick, could run as high as 300 million pounds (US$570 million; euro450 million), based on analyst estimates of carriers’ daily losses.


Airlines say BAA was too slow to respond when the government imposed strict security checks on all passengers and a ban on onboard baggage last week after the discovery of a plot to blow up several trans-Atlantic flights.


The alert crippled airport operations Thursday and BAA has struggled to get flight schedules back to normal since then.


Analysts estimate that the crisis could be costing British airlines a combined 50 million pounds (US$95 million; euro75 million) a day, putting the total costs at 300 million pounds (US$570 million; euro450 million) by the end of Tuesday.


BAA, which was recently acquired by Spanish construction giant Ferrovial SA for 10 billion pounds (US$19 billion; euro15 billion), called accusations that it lacked adequate plans ‘‘neither fair nor accurate.’’


It pointed out that Heathrow, where much of the criticism has been leveled, was designed to cater to a maximum of 55 million passengers per year, but is currently handling 68 million.


‘‘The fact is that Heathrow, the world’s busiest international airport, is at the best of times significantly overstretched because of the difficulties over many years of securing permission to grow capacity at the airport,’’ BAA said in a statement. ‘‘The scale and suddenness of the measures imposed last week could not be managed without significant disruption.’’


The airports operator kept bans on hand luggage in place for an extra day after the government eased the security threat level Monday. In a bid to ease congestion, it also ordered all airlines to cut their number of departures by 20 percent to 30 percent each day since the alert, with the threat of losing all their flight slots if they did not.


BAA lifted that requirement Tuesday but British Airways again canceled 20 percent of its flights and said there would be more cancellations Wednesday, blaming BAA’s inability to cope.


The airline said it was actively considering whether to pursue BAA for compensation.


‘‘Since 9/11, everyone in the industry has known there might be times when extra security measures needed to be put in place,’’ Chief Executive Willie Walsh told the Daily Mirror newspaper. ‘‘Yet when the moment struck, BAA had no plan ready to keep the airport functioning.’’


Budget airline Ryanair Holdings PLC also canceled more flights Tuesday from Stansted, its key London airport.


‘‘This morning, we had a situation where, despite assurances to the contrary, the staff were not in place,’’ said Ryanair spokesman Peter Sherrard. ‘‘An hour before scheduled flights, there were still only half the 14 security points open.’’


Ryanair, which has seen a 10 percent dropoff in bookings since Thursday, said it was considering legal action against the government in order to reduce screening delays. It said it would consider compensation after it dealt with the current logistical issues.


It said the current restrictions, which still bar any liquids from being taken through security points, should be reviewed or that police or army personnel should be deployed to speed up passenger screening.


Virgin Atlantic Airways said it was considering all options and was prepared to discuss compensation with BAA.


‘‘Airlines have incurred substantial costs in the past few days, collectively running into millions of pounds and clearly we need to consider all the options for possible contributions to these costs, whether it be possible rebates, compensation or government support,’’ it said in a statement.


However, no-frills carrier easyJet PLC said it had no plans to join any attempt to sue BAA for compensation. Spokeswoman Samantha Day said BAA had dealt with the crisis as best as it could and the industry was better off discussing how to cope with future alerts.


BAA said it was working on the assumption that the current security regime would be maintained for the foreseeable future and it had begun working on bringing in additional staff and strengthening its security system.


The airport operator said it had added around 1,500 security guards to its security team since the Sept. 11 attacks in the U.S., bringing the total to 6,000.


BAA owns and operates airports that handle 63 percent of travelers to and from Britain — a figure that rises to 86 percent in Scotland and to 92 percent in London.


Britain’s competition watchdog is considering a detailed inquiry into the domestic airport market and whether BAA’s dominance delivers the best value for air travelers.


A full probe by the Competition Commission, which was mooted in the middle of the takeover battle for the airports operator in May, could complicate any bid from airlines for compensation.




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karatecatman


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RE: AIRCRAFT BOMBING PLOT DISRUPTED: Scotland Yard (Heathrow in chaos)
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Just imagine if this was a situation where there were a few A380s!!! 

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EU experts to discuss explosives November 6, 7
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EU experts to discuss explosives November 6, 7


 


BRUSSELS, Aug 17, 2006 (UNI)


The European Commission is organizing a ‘‘major conference’’ of private and public explosives experts on November 6 and 7, a spokesman said Thursday.


The meeting was set after British authorities foiled a plot last week allegedly to blow up US-bound airliners with liquid explosives smuggled on board, putting a new focus on such materials.


The meeting would give experts an opportunity to review security issues related to all aspects of explosives, ranging from production to transportation, commission spokesman Friso Roscam Abbing said.


In London on Wednesday, EU Security Commissioner Franco Frattini said the commission would propose new counter-terrorism measures to detect liquid explosives.


Roscam Abbing said that those proposals could be put forward as soon as ‘‘next week or the week after’’ and EU ministers could decide on whether to take additional measures as soon as an October 5 meeting in Luxembourg.


The ministers could, for example, decide to make it illegal to publish descriptions of how to make a bomb, he said.


 



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Terrorists rolling around Pak caves, laughing at UK’s response to terror threat: Ryanair boss
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Terrorists rolling around Pak caves, laughing at UK’s response to terror threat: Ryanair boss
London, Aug 19 (UNI):


A British airline boss has said that terrorists must be ‘‘rolling around the caves of Pakistan, laughing’’ at Britain’s response to the terror threat following the foiled terror plot at Heathrow.
Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary said many of the security measures were ‘‘farcical, Keystone Kops-like and completely insane and ineffectual’’.
He said he was giving the government a seven-day deadline to relax restrictions or face legal action. He has threatened to sue the government under Section 93 of the Transport Act 2000, though aviation authorities have said that Ryanair’s case is hollow because an airline can only claim for compensation under the 2000 Act if it meets specific criteria.
O’Leary said the government should return passenger-search requirements to pre-alert levels. The government should also restore the hand-luggage allowance for passengers leaving British airports, and an assurance that military and police personnel would be released to help with airport security checks next time there is a major alert, the Scotsman quoted him as saying.
O’Leary said some of the security measures were stupid and it was ‘‘completely untenable’’ to expect airport staff to continue working flat-out to cope with the new regulations.
He said the delays at airports in the last few days had been ‘‘entirely preventable if the government had put in a couple of hundred police or army personnel’’ to help airport staff.
He said banning items such as water bottles and toothpaste was ‘‘nuts’’ and the terrorists ‘‘must be rolling around the caves of Pakistan, laughing’’.
‘‘People being subjected to intense security were not terrorists and fanatics ... they are actually called holidaymakers. The best way to defeat terrorists and extremists is for ordinary people to continue to live their lives as normal. We are not in danger of dying at the hands of toiletries. Normal security measures have successfully prevented any terrorist attack on any British plane in the last 25 years,’’ he said.
Elsewhere, pilots have also attacked measures, which ban them from taking toothpaste on to aircraft, and said subjecting flight crews to the same restrictions as passengers made ‘‘no sense at all’’.
‘‘Pilots travelling away from home for days at a time had been told they could not take into their cockpits toothpaste, contact- lens solution and other liquids and gels. Since the extra security measures have been introduced there have been endless practical and frustrating problems for flight crew who have to operate the aircraft,’’ said Captain Mervyn Granshaw, of the British Airline Pilots Association (Balpa).
‘‘Do officials really believe that we need to be prevented from using liquids, given that we freely load and carry many thousands of litres of volatile aviation kerosene every day? The measure is illogical and frankly bizarre,’’ he said.
‘‘If we don’t learn from the lessons of the past two weeks we shall be in trouble and aviation could grind to a halt for all the wrong reasons. This is not about special pleading but pilots are already responsible for hundreds of lives,’’ he added.
O’Leary said though the security crisis had cost his airline about two million pounds, he was not contemplating seeking compensation.
‘‘This is relatively small beer. We are not that concerned about getting compensation. We just want the airports back to normal. This is about preventing a bunch of lunatics from changing our lives,’’ he said.  
 
 



 



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the_380


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RE: AIRCRAFT BOMBING PLOT DISRUPTED: Scotland Yard (Heathrow in chaos)
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Aer Lingus flight from N.Y. is evacuated.


Possibly an A330 or B767


LONDON - An Aer Lingus flight from New York was evacuated during a stopover in western Ireland Friday morning following a bomb threat, airport authorities said.


A search of the plane and baggage at Shannon airport found nothing alarming, and the security alert was ended shortly before noon, Aer Lingus said.


Security and airport officials leave the Aer Lingus plane following a threat against the aircraft at Shannon International Airport, Limerick Ireland Friday Aug.25, 2006. The Aer Lingus flight from New York was evacuated Friday morning following a threat against the aircraft, The 239 passengers aboard the plane, Aer Lingus flight 112, were evacuated during a scheduled stop at at Shannon airport in western Ireland, said airport spokesman Eugene Pratt. (AP Photo/Brian Gavin/Press 22) 


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060825/ap_on_re_eu/ireland_plane_evacuated



-- Edited by the_380 at 22:06, 2006-08-25

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karatecatman


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Ryanair sues government over delays
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WWW.UNINEWS.COM


Ryanair sues government over delays


London, Aug 26 (UNI) 


THE BUDGET airline Ryanair filed a GBP3m compensation claim against the government yesterday (AUG25) as airport security restrictions caused more disruption at the start of the bank holiday weekend.


 Ryanair is demanding damages for ticket refunds and lost business since emergency guidelines were introduced a fortnight ago, forcing airlines to cancel thousands of flights at an estimated cost of GBP300m to the aviation industry. The measures have led to long queues which were still in evidence yesterday as 1.7 million people head abroad this weekend.


 BAA, owner of Heathrow, said there were no cancellations at the airport but confirmed there were queues , with overspill tents for passengers outside terminals one and four.


 Ryanair submitted its compensation claim to the Department for Transport after the government ignored its ultimatum to return security measures to normal by yesterday. The low-cost airline has cancelled 250 flights over the past fortnight.


 A slight relaxation of the measures has brought some respite, but there are still long queues because one in two passengers must be body searched. Michael O’Leary, Ryanair chief executive, said: ‘‘The DfT is undermining the credibility of UK airport security and pandering to extremists by continuing to require these nonsensical measures.’’


A Department for Transport spokesman said Ryanair had no legal basis for seeking compensation and was suing under the wrong act. The Dublin-based carrier is suing under the Transport Act 2000, but government officials say the security directives are covered by the Aviation Security Act 1982.


 COPYRIGHT: GUARDIAN NEWSPAPERS LIMITED 2006



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the_380


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RE: AIRCRAFT BOMBING PLOT DISRUPTED: Scotland Yard (Heathrow in chaos)
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Guys if im not wrong then isnt Ryan Air like another Air Sahara- A dubta hua airline fighting for its survival

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HAWK21M


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Is Ryan Air in losses.


regds


MEL



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the_380


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HAWK21M wrote:


Is Ryan Air in losses.


regds


MEL



Yes they were in heavy losses till last year dont know about this year 

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Any reasons.


regds


MEL



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tayara mechanici


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the_380 wrote:





Yes they were in heavy losses till last year dont know about this year 



So the_380, you seem to have exclusive access to Ryan Air hidden accounts then. Most of the experts working in finance markets are under the impression Ryan Air is returning record profits YOY for the last couple of years. Infact they have made a NET PROFIT of Euro 266m in 2005 and Euro 209m in 2004, so you claim Michael O'Leary is cooking the books.


Yaar u've andaar ka khabaar (inside info)...........



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tayara mechanici wrote:

Yaar u've andaar ka khabaar (inside info)...........


Wohi samaj lijiye


Yes they didnt perform well in the past year and before too... They company tried to manipulate their finances to prevent losing more from the shares... they cut off many routes saying that they were not earning anything and for that they returned some B737s back to their leasing agencies... but in reality they had to return some aircraft cos they weren't able to pay their bills


Though many called it a rumour but Ryan Air constantly denied such facts and lucikly they were able to manipulate it to quite some extent...


Though a bit off topic but even many times IC's management calls it a profit though they have been in heavy losses and pls dont ask me the source for this



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tayara mechanici


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the_380 wrote:


tayara mechanici wrote:

Yaar u've andaar ka khabaar (inside info)...........


Wohi samaj lijiye


Yes they didnt perform well in the past year and before too... They company tried to manipulate their finances to prevent losing more from the shares... they cut off many routes saying that they were not earning anything and for that they returned some B737s back to their leasing agencies... but in reality they had to return some aircraft cos they weren't able to pay their bills


Though many called it a rumour but Ryan Air constantly denied such facts and lucikly they were able to manipulate it to quite some extent...


Though a bit off topic but even many times IC's management calls it a profit though they have been in heavy losses and pls dont ask me the source for this





lapet lapet....................



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the_380


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tayara mechanici wrote:

lapet lapet....................

Well i dont think its compulsory for u to believe it

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tayara mechanici


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the_380 wrote:


tayara mechanici wrote:

lapet lapet....................

Well i dont think its compulsory for u to believe it

Source then

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the_380


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tayara mechanici wrote:


the_380 wrote:


tayara mechanici wrote:

lapet lapet....................

Well i dont think its compulsory for u to believe it


Source then



well ander ke khaber dont have sources to be disclosed and its my knowledge what do i get by faking the news?


Nothing



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tayara mechanici


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the_380 wrote:


tayara mechanici wrote:


the_380 wrote:


tayara mechanici wrote:

lapet lapet....................

Well i dont think its compulsory for u to believe it


Source then




well ander ke khaber dont have sources to be disclosed and its my knowledge what do i get by faking the news?


Nothing





Nothing is all that you have to offer Mr. There is no andaar ka source with you. The accounts of Ryan Air are audited under EU guidelines and they are traded here in EU. They own all their aircrafts and don't lease any for the last 2 years. Their accounts can be seen, link attached. Once again for your info they are the biggest (If not second to KLM-AF) and the most profitable airline in the EU.


http://www.ryanair.com/site/about/invest/docs/2005/050830annualreport.pdf#search=%22ryan%20air%20annual%20report%22


Without sounding rude, Gods given us 2 eyes, 2 ears and 1 mouth. So listen and read twice as much as you blab. 



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the_380


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tayara mechanici wrote:

  So listen and read twice as much as you blab. 

Well then i must say thank u for the correction

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