Monday, January 25, 2010
Britain suspends direct flights from Yemen
Britain today suspended direct flights from Yemen as a part of measures to improve security following the failed Detroit airliner attack.
After announcing the measures, Prime Minister told the House of Commons the steps are in response to a growing threat from al-Qaida affiliated terrorists based in Yemen.
“This is the Yemen-based organisation with close links to the al-Qaeda core in Pakistan. And we know that a number of terrorist cells are actively trying to attack Britain and other countries,” Brown was quoted as saying by Times Online.
A new “no fly” list will also be introduced to ban terror suspects from boarding flights to the UK as part of a package of measures to improve security following last month’s failed Detroit plane bombing, Brown said.
The list will be complemented by a larger list of people who will be subject to enhanced security checks before boarding a plane to Britain.
He said the measures would ensure that individuals “posing the greatest risk” could not travel to the UK.
But the prime minister hoped that flights could be resumed as soon as possible as UK aviation officials were currently in Yemen to discuss improved aviation security in the country.
Yemen is under intense US and Western pressure to clamp down on Al-Qaeda, which claimed responsibility for the December 25 bid to blow up a flight from Amsterdam.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment