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Pilots Unhappy Over U.K. Plan to Add Air Marshals
Aired December 29, 2003 - 15:03 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, ANCHOR: A plan to protect planes from terrorists.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security orders international flights to place pistol-packing marshals on board some flights to the U.S.
The U.S. began placing armed marshals on airlines after 9/11. Homeland security officials say the department is still concerned about the al Qaeda threat to airlines.
Still, the plan is not flying well, shall we say with British pilots.
CNN's Paula Hancocks has our story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An appropriate level of response to a real and serious threat. That's the UK's government's justification of putting air marshals on flights where and when deemed necessary. A justification rejected by the British Airline Pilots' Association.
JIM MCAUSLAN, BRITISH AIRLINE PILOTS' ASSOC.: We've made our position clear. We don't believe that guns should be in aircraft. If they are we want the proper protocol for the deployment of police sky marshals.
We've been pressing a very reasonable list of demands, but unsuccessfully, I'm afraid. We haven't had a response, a positive response from the government.
HANCOCKS: The pilots' union is angered they found about the move at the same time as the public and say pilots may refuse to fly an aircraft if certain conditions are not met.
Those conditions include prior knowledge a marshal will be on their flight, and the captain maintaining ultimate control of the flight.
The undercover marshals are expected to begin work as early as Monday.
(on camera) These air marshals will have a police or a military background and have been in training for the past year. They'll be disguised as ordinary passengers, and the UK government says that their main role is to act as a deterrent to a potential terrorist. (voice-over) Israel's carrier El Al has had marshals for around 30 years, and the Australian government announced last week it would use armed guards on many flights between Australia and Singapore.
As for Britain, the pilots' union is demanding talks with the UK government so the pilots have input into how the air marshal plan is implemented.
Paula Hancocks, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Now you'll remember, Air France flights from Paris to Los Angeles were canceled on Christmas Eve and Christmas due to U.S. terror concerns.
Now U.S. investigators report they want to speak to a small number of people in Paris who failed to board those flights. The Associated Press reports one of those wanted for questioning is a pilot trainee.
French police questioned 13 of the people who had booked flights. Airport security questioned all of the other passengers. So far no one has been detained.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired December 29, 2003 - 15:03 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, ANCHOR: A plan to protect planes from terrorists.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security orders international flights to place pistol-packing marshals on board some flights to the U.S.
The U.S. began placing armed marshals on airlines after 9/11. Homeland security officials say the department is still concerned about the al Qaeda threat to airlines.
Still, the plan is not flying well, shall we say with British pilots.
CNN's Paula Hancocks has our story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An appropriate level of response to a real and serious threat. That's the UK's government's justification of putting air marshals on flights where and when deemed necessary. A justification rejected by the British Airline Pilots' Association.
JIM MCAUSLAN, BRITISH AIRLINE PILOTS' ASSOC.: We've made our position clear. We don't believe that guns should be in aircraft. If they are we want the proper protocol for the deployment of police sky marshals.
We've been pressing a very reasonable list of demands, but unsuccessfully, I'm afraid. We haven't had a response, a positive response from the government.
HANCOCKS: The pilots' union is angered they found about the move at the same time as the public and say pilots may refuse to fly an aircraft if certain conditions are not met.
Those conditions include prior knowledge a marshal will be on their flight, and the captain maintaining ultimate control of the flight.
The undercover marshals are expected to begin work as early as Monday.
(on camera) These air marshals will have a police or a military background and have been in training for the past year. They'll be disguised as ordinary passengers, and the UK government says that their main role is to act as a deterrent to a potential terrorist. (voice-over) Israel's carrier El Al has had marshals for around 30 years, and the Australian government announced last week it would use armed guards on many flights between Australia and Singapore.
As for Britain, the pilots' union is demanding talks with the UK government so the pilots have input into how the air marshal plan is implemented.
Paula Hancocks, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Now you'll remember, Air France flights from Paris to Los Angeles were canceled on Christmas Eve and Christmas due to U.S. terror concerns.
Now U.S. investigators report they want to speak to a small number of people in Paris who failed to board those flights. The Associated Press reports one of those wanted for questioning is a pilot trainee.
French police questioned 13 of the people who had booked flights. Airport security questioned all of the other passengers. So far no one has been detained.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
