LONDON – Airlines warned the British government Saturday that the country’s air travel is “grinding to a halt” because of tough new anti-terror security requirements. One airline asked for police and army reservists to help with screening.
British Airways and Ryanair canceled scores of flights from Britain to Europe and the United States and blamed airport operator BAA for not investing enough in security systems and baggage screening in the aftermath of new terrorism threats.
BAA, which owns Heathrow and Stansted airports, ordered the cancellations because its systems for screening passengers and checked-in baggage for security threats could not cope with the extra required scrutiny of passengers and their luggage in the wake of Thursday’s thwarted threat to bomb up to 10 U.S.-bound aircraft.
Budget carrier Ryanair appealed to the British government to use police and army reservists to speed up searches at overloaded airport security checkpoints.
Heathrow Airport, the major hub for British Airways, canceled one-third of flights due out Saturday afternoon and night, blaming strict new security regulations. Passengers were delayed so long that many missed their flights.
Saturday night, the airport said it planned to cancel a third of its flights on today, too, because of the current delays.
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