Flight Security - some implications

[arjay]

Have a look at this quote from the BBC about the affects of flight security problems:

'People nearby started to panic'

BBC News website reader Matthew Robinson was on a British Airways flight from Heathrow to New York which was turned back after a mobile phone was heard ringing on the plane.

'No one admitted owning the phone so the flight with 217 passengers on board returned to London as a precautionary measure.

I was sitting at the front of the plane - we'd probably been in the air for around an hour, maybe two, somewhere over Ireland.

A mobile phone started ringing at the back of the plane. No one claimed the phone as their own so people nearby started to panic and covered it up with pillows.

Passengers were already worried about flying because of the fear of a terrorist attack so the people near the phone had their concerns increased when no one admitted the phone was theirs so they panicked.

The captain came out to talk to the passengers towards the back of the plane and he eventually made the decision to turn the plane back to Heathrow.

We were then stuck at Heathrow again - this was after three hours delay for check-in and for US authorities to scrutinize the passenger list.

Nobody had their mobile phones with them to call friends and relatives so some of the staff passed theirs around - there were three phones being shared around with over 200 passengers.

BA then offloaded all the bags from the plane. We were handed a lost luggage claim form and told to fill it in and that we might get our luggage back in a few days.

We finally landed in New York at around 0330.

I had no phone, no laptop or car and house keys.

My house keys were in my luggage, so in the early hours of the morning I had to break into my own house, which set the alarm off and I had to explain to the police what had happened when they arrived to investigate the alarm.

It was thought that the phone could have been left from a previous flight that allowed them in hand luggage, but the crew didn't know where the plane had come from. It also could've been left by a cleaner. Obviously a gap in security somewhere.'

[arjay]

My house keys were in my luggage, so in the early hours of the morning I had to break into my own house, which set the alarm off and I had to explain to the police what had happened when they arrived to investigate the alarm

A bit rough that, having to break into your own house, because you had to check your keys in with your baggage!

The inventor of Mobile phones has a lot to answer for!

[JimboPSM]

From BBC News: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/4796199.stm

Boy boards plane without tickets

An investigation is under way into how a 12-year-old boy managed to board a plane at Gatwick without tickets during the security alert.

The boy, reported to be from Penrith in Cumbria, but thought to have run away from a care home in Birkenhead, Merseyside, was heading to Lisbon.

He was discovered on Monday's 0600 BST Monarch flight before it took off.

Security officers and Sussex Police were informed after cabin crew found the boy on the plane.

What staggering incompetence - only in England

[arjay]

I suppose the big question is - Did he have any hand baggage?

He obviously didn't know his airlines very well, to pick a Monarch flight!!

[arjay]

A quote from the BBC:

It sounds like a stand-up comedian's joke: A nervous flier boards a plane with hand cream and a box of matches...

But the diversion of United 923 from London to Washington - and the arrest of a passenger for interfering with the flight - was no laughing matter.

Fighter jets scrambled to escort the plane into Boston, and the media scrambled to keep up with events.

Television news showed luggage laid out neatly on the tarmac, sniffer dogs searching them for anything suspicious.

And interest in the story was intense, as the BBC News website's own statistics show.

Within two hours of the story breaking - in the middle of the afternoon, London time - it had become our top-hitting story of the day, racking up more readers than articles that had been on the site all day long.

Rumours flying
Meanwhile, over on CNN and Fox News, experts speculated about early reports suggesting that banned items had been found on the plane.

Was it Vaseline? That would be cause for alarm: last week's arrests in London reportedly centred on a plan to concoct explosives from liquids or gels while a plane was in flight.

Was it a screwdriver? Even worse: the 9/11 hijackers took control of four planes with nothing more than small, sharp hand tools - and the fifth anniversary of 9/11 is looming.

Was it a note about al-Qaeda? If so, apparent proof that a terrorist had got on board.

In the end, though, it seems that the passenger at the centre of the alert had none of those items.

Changed forever?

Whatever the exact nature of the disturbance, it tapped into some very real fears.

Consider this. As far as we know, from a security perspective the diversion of United 923 went exactly according to plan.

Cabin crew alerted the captain that there was an "unruly passenger" on board.

The captain has the final authority to divert a flight, and he exercised it, contacting air traffic control to find an alternative landing strip.

Since 11 September 2001, it is standard procedure to send fighter jets to intercept commercial flights that may have become terrorist threats.

The disruptive passenger was restrained in some way, United Airlines confirms.

That, too, should not be surprising - flight crews would hardly let a suspected terrorist remain free if they could stop it.

So if any lessons are to be drawn from the drama of United 923, one must be that the airlines and security agencies have plans in place to handle even the merest hint of a threat.

But the mere fact that those plans exist - and that they were put into operation to deal with a 59-year-old woman with a tube of hand cream - must make one wonder if the current generation will ever again be able to regard air travel as simply a quick and easy means of getting from one place to another.

Guys, you are going to have to pack your mosituriser and hand cream for sure now.

[BKKSTAN]

And after all of that,the news reported a 12 yr old boy got onto a plane without a boarding pass!Security??

[polehawk]

Morning news here showed short interviews of a few passengers who described a deranged woman walking back and forth through the aisles, swearing, muttering and fiddling with the emergency door handles. Airline staff finally moved in and overpowered her after she dropped her trousers to relieve herself.

Makes you wonder why anyone, aircrew or passengers, would have waited to restrain or hogtie this disturbed person unless she made some type of bomb threat but then we don't know all of the details.

[Galee]

I think the poor old dear just had a cluastrophobic panic attack.

IMHO I think everybody over reacted. What happened to good old common sense.

[beer monkey]

yes i read that she had a panic attack and wanted to have a leak in the sink ?!? so they tied her up in the corner and diverted to boston,where a full scale song and dance was performed.

[arjay]

I received this by email, so cannot vouch for it's authenticity, but it has a certain ironic ring of truth about it:-

I'm not sure if this is an accurate report but I imagine that there may be more issues of this nature in the future?

Mutiny as passengers refuse to fly until Asians are removed

Passengers refuse to allow holiday jet to take off until two Asian men are thrown off plane

By CHRISTOPHER LEAKE and ANDREW CHAPMAN
The Daily Mail
12:08pm 20th August 2006

British holidaymakers staged an unprecedented mutiny -

refusing to allow their flight to take off until two men they feared were
terrorists were forcibly removed.

The extraordinary scenes happened after some of the 150 passengers on
a Malaga-Manchester flight overheard two men of Asian appearance
apparently talking Arabic.

Passengers told cabin crew they feared for their safety and demanded
police action. Some stormed off the Monarch Airlines Airbus A320 minutes before it was due to leave the Costa del Sol at 3am. Others waiting for Flight ZB 613 in the departure lounge refused to board it.

The incident fuels the row over airport security following the arrest of more than 20 people allegedly planning the suicide-bombing of transatlantic jets from the UK to America. It comes amid growing demands for passenger-profiling and selective security checks.

It also raised fears that more travellers will take the law into their own hands - effectively conducting their own 'passenger profiles'.

The passenger revolt came as Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary was accused
of using the terror crisis to make money. Government sources say he
boasted to an official at the Transport Department: "Every time I appear on TV, I get a spike in sales."

The Tories said the Government's failure to reassure travellers had led the Malaga passengers to 'behave irrationally' and 'hand a victory to Terrorists'.

Websites used by pilots and cabin crew were yesterday reporting further incidents. In one, two British women with young children on another flight from Spain complained about flying with a bearded Muslim even though he had been security-checked twice before boarding.

The trouble in Malaga flared last Wednesday as two British citizens in their 20s waited in the departure lounge to board the pre-dawn flight and were heard talking what passengers took to be Arabic. Worries spread after a female passenger said she had heard something that alarmed her.

Passengers noticed that, despite the heat, the pair were wearing leather jackets and thick jumpers and were regularly checking their watches.

Initially, six passengers refused to board the flight. On board the aircraft, word reached one family. To the astonishment of cabin crew, they stood up and walked off, followed quickly by others.

The Monarch pilot - a highly experienced captain - accompanied by armed Civil Guard police and airport security staff, approached the two men and took their passports. Half an hour later, police returned and escorted the
two Asian passengers off the jet. 'There was no fuss or panic'.

Soon afterwards, the aircraft was cleared while police did a thorough security sweep. Nothing was found and the plane took off - three hours late and without the two men on board.

Monarch arranged for them to spend the rest of the night in an airport
hotel and flew them back to Manchester later on Wednesday.

College lecturer Jo Schofield, her husband Heath and daughters Emily, 15, and Isabel, 12, were caught up in the passenger mutiny. Mrs Schofield, 38, said: "The plane was not yet full and it became apparent that people were refusing to board.

In the gate waiting area, people had been talking about these two, who looked really suspicious with their heavy clothing, scruffy, rough, appearance and long hair. "Some of the older children, who had seen the terror alert on television, were starting to mutter things like, 'Those two look like they're bombers.' "Then a family stood up and walked off the aircraft. They were joined by others, about eight in all. We learned later that six or seven people had refused to get on the plane.

"There was no fuss or panic. People just calmly and quietly got off the plane. There were no racist taunts or any remarks directed at the men.

"It was an eerie scene, very quiet. The children were starting to ask what was going on. We tried to play it down." Mr Schofield, 40, an area sales manager, said: "When the men were taken off they didn't argue or say a word. They just picked up their coats and obeyed the police. They seemed resigned to the fact they were under suspicion.

"The captain and crew were very apologetic when we were asked to evacuate the plane for the security search. But there was no dissent.

"While we were waiting, everyone agreed the men looked dodgy. Some
passengers were very panicky and in tears. There was a lot of talking about terrorists."

Patrick Mercer, the Tory Homeland Security spokesman, said last night:
"This is a victory for terrorists. These people on the flight have been terrorised into behaving irrationally.

"For those unfortunate two men to be victimised because of the colour of their skin is just nonsense."

Monarch said last night: "The captain was concerned about the security
surrounding the two gentlemen on the aircraft and the decision was
taken to remove them from the flight for further security checks.

"The two passengers offloaded from the flight were later cleared by airport security and rebooked to travel back to Manchester on a later flight."

A spokesman for the Civil Guard in Malaga said: "These men had aroused
suspicion because of their appearance and the fact that they were speaking in a foreign language thought to be an Arabic language, and
the pilot was refusing to take off until they were escorted off the plane."

Is this the start of a new initiative by the people?!

[valentine]

-

r
'.

The passenger revolt came as Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary was accused
of using the terror crisis to make money. Government sources say he
boasted to an official at the Transport Department: "Every time I appear on TV, I get a spike in sales."

What a ridiculous statement from goverment sources. I know Mike very well, we are members of the same flying club. He;s a business man for Gods sake.Why shouldn't he increase his business by appearing on TV for whatever reason.?

[farang]

http://www.thebigproject.co.uk/news/

Click Here too!



23 August 2006
EXCLUSIVE: MALAGA JET MUTINY PAIR'S SHOCK AT PLANE EJECTION
We just couldn't believe they feared we were bombers We're ordinary Asian lads who only wanted some fun

By Graham Brough
THESE are the two innocent Asian students kicked off a jet because other passengers feared they were terrorists.

Friends Sohail Ashraf and Khurram Zeb, both 22, said last night they were stunned that anybody could think they were suicide bombers.

And they insisted they were just a couple of ordinary lads who wanted a bit of fun on a day trip to Malaga.


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Sohail - who was marched off the Monarch flight to Manchester at gunpoint - said: "My first reaction was to laugh when I was told why we had been taken off the plane. Then I realised they were deadly serious."


Despite their ordeal, the pair do not blame the paranoid passengers.


Fforgiving Sohail said yesterday: "These are nervous times and I can understand why people are so panicked.


"All I would say is, 'Don't be paranoid. Don't judge every book by its cover'.


"We might be Asian, but we're two ordinary lads who wanted a bit of fun.


"Just because we're Muslim, does not mean we are suicide bombers."


Khurram added: "I don't blame anyone for what happened. Actually I feel sorry for the people who thought we were terrorists."


The fun-loving pair visited the Spanish resort for a quick recce ahead of a proper holiday later in the year.


They are so far removed from extremism that they even spent the day boozing and tucking into a McDonald's burger.


Khurram admitted: "As Muslims we are not supposed to drink alcohol, but we did have a few."


Yet as they waited aboard the jet to fly home they had little inkling of the ordeal to follow. Fellow passengers claimed they were acting suspiciously and some grew so hysterical they burst into tears.


Yet the students had no idea they were suspected of being suicide bombers until security officials told them after they had been marched off at gunpoint.


Khurram said: "We just didn't twig. Why would we? Then we heard a child crying. I looked around and there was a girl of about 12 looking at me, pointing and crying.


"Her parents were putting their arms around her protectively and staring at us."


"One minute we were sitting quietly, looking forward to getting home, the next we were being bundled off."


Sohail added: "My first reaction was to laugh when I was told why we had been taken off the plane. Then I realised they were deadly serious."


The pair, studying for degrees at Manchester's Umist institution, believe the scare was sparked by an elderly lady sitting nearby.


Khurram said: "We were chatting away in Urdu and she kept looking at us.


"At first I didn't really take any notice. I just thought perhaps she'd never seen an Asian person before."


Sohail added: "She had to move to let us sit down and I knew straight away that something was bothering her.


"I tried my best to ignore her but she started asking me questions like where we lived and how long we had been in Malaga.


"When I told her we had only gone for the day she became even more suspicious. She kept saying that was a strange thing to do.


"Suddenly she got up and walked toward the cockpit."


The woman told cabin crew she feared for her safety and other passengers on the Manchester-bound Monarch jet joined the mutiny. Six travellers not even on the jet heard of the scare in the early hours of last Wednesday and refused to board while those already in their seats raced for the exits.


Sohail said: "The captain came over and asked to see our passports.


"Then another official said most apologetically, 'I'm sorry but we will have to ask you to leave the flight'.


"He told us everything would be explained once we got off.


"To be honest I was relieved. I should have been p****d off, but they promised we could get on the next flight and we knew there was little point in arguing.


"As we got off we could feel everyone looking at us. People couldn't get out of our way fast enough.


"We were then taken to an office where they explained people had thought we were terrorists." After being quizzed and released without charge, they were bought a meal, put up in a hotel and eventually put on a flight home later that day.


The friends deny claims they were wearing heavy leather jackets which aroused suspicion. They insist they merely had on light windcheaters, T-shirts and jeans.


But they were able to laugh off their nightmare in their hotel room . Sohail said: "We sat on our beds and Khurram said, 'You don't look like a terrorist'. I said, 'Neither do you'. Then we both collapsed with laughter.


"I suppose we were a bit hysterical. It all felt very odd.


"We've never experienced racism before so it was very unnerving."


Khurram went on: "I wasn't that bothered about what happened, but when my father heard he hit the roof.


"He said, 'Why didn't they throw all the passengers off instead of you? If they didn't want to travel, they should have been left behind'.


"I suppose he's right. We were victimised simply because we were Asians."


But lecturer Jo Schofield - travelling with husband Heath and daughter Isabel, 12 - tried to explain why panic gripped the 150 passengers on the flight.


She said: "Everyone agreed the men looked dodgy. Some passengers were very panicky and in tears. There was a lot of talking about terrorists."


The incident is the latest in a series that has seen innocent British Asians wrongly branded jet terror suspects.


Last week Manchester man Azar Iqbal was taken away from his wife and four kids as they flew into the US for a holiday and returned to the UK.


Earlier this month commercial pilot Amar Ashraf was taken off a US-bound flight and quizzed by armed officers.

[JimboPSM]

I think that many Brits have been pretty disgusted over the last week or so in the absurd way the British Government has played the fear card and taken political correctness to even crazier levels.

Michael O'Leary responded in a far more rational and considered way, he is all too well aware that if any incident did occur on one of his aircraft it would have a disastrous effect on his business.

I like the current Ryanair webpage; it has a proper British response (not a bleating Blair in site): http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/

For some reason the authorities in the UK never seemed to really like people such as Freddie Laker, Richard Branson or Michael O'Leary.

....... maybe it's because they were successful in an area where the government only ever lost money