Airlines have expressed concern at the deployment of armed sky marshals on some British passenger planes.
| "Eww! Sky marshals! Ucky, sweaty men!" |
Their worries over the anti-terrorist initiative follows the strong opposition expressed by the pilots' union Balpa. "We have always said we have concerns about having armed people on aircraft," said a British Airways' spokeswoman.
| I have concerns over people trying to fly airplanes full of screaming civilians into things that are also full of screaming civilians... |
She said: "We feel it is best to have strong security on the ground and that is where the focus of attention should be. We have always been of the opinion that if it is not safe to fly then we will not fly."
| "So obviously we don't need those... men... with their... guns." |
Another airline spokesman said: "We have reservations about this."
| "We can put it on standby, though..." |
"If you bring arms on to a plane then you raise the level of danger. Introducing a weapon into a cabin could lead to that weapon being used against passengers."
| "Those men with the turbans, rolling their eyes and skewering the stewardesses, they've paid for their tickets, too, y'know!" |
"If the level of risk is so high that a sky marshal has to be deployed, then it would be easier to just not operate that particular flight."
| "Since I have 20-20 foresight, and I'm a seventh son of a seventh son, I know how to make sure there aren't any Bad Guys on our flights." |
Transport Secretary Alistair Darling, who first announced the plan a year ago, said pilots would be informed if there was a sky marshal on their flight. "The captain of the aircraft would know. For perfectly obvious reasons. He has got to fly the aircraft," he told the BBC. Mr Darling said that sky marshals would be the "last line of defence" and they were among a series of measures being put in place - including improved screening of passengers and baggage - to prevent hijackings.
| No. Really? That's brilliant. I'd have used them as the first line of defense. Have them start shooting at the passengers, preferably in the boarding lounge. Any passengers that shoot back must be hijackers. |
He went on: "It is someone who is there when people have got on to the plane and is intent on trying to take over that plane. It is one of the last lines of defence," he said. "Of course the best thing to do is to try to stop people getting on to the plane in the first place."
| "You, there! With the ordnance! May I see your boarding pass, please?" |
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