FLASH: BA flights cancelled by refusal of British pilots to fly with armed marshals on board

drudge report ^ | 1/2/2004 | Drudge

[hadrian]

FLASH: Cancellation of British Airways flights is not in response to U.S. safety concerns, but rather is being prompted by refusal of British pilots to fly with armed marshals on board... Developing...

[hadrian]

Nothing more yet

[oceanview]

this has got to be a cover story for what has actually taken place.

[IncPen]

Apparently the Brits would prefer armed Islamists aboard...

[Support Free Republic]

	Linda Carter is completely unrelated to Free Republic. But if I am going to have to post donation begs until the Freepathon is over, I'm going to occasionally post something I want! And there is only one way you can stop me!

[sinkspur]

Refusing to fly with air marshalls IS a safety concern.

I'll wait for confirmation, though; Drudge has been all over the place lately.

[GeronL]

Obviously liberals and socialists would do this kind of thing.

How dare the INS stop a bus full of illegals and ask to see proof of citizenship!... how dare the US protect themselves from terrorists!

[GladesGuru]

Old Chinese saying: Man who bleak own lice bowl vely stupid.

[jim35]

Please, someone tell me this isn't true. What a bunch of woosies. Who are they trying to impress, the French? This is an example of the whole British anti-gun insanity that has caused their crime rate to skyrocket, now greatly out-pacing our own, even in our biggest cities. Sigh.

[alnick]

this has got to be a cover story for what has actually taken place.

Bingo.

[alnick]

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/03/national/03TERR.html?ei=5062&en=9f681213929ea54d&ex=1073710800&partner=GOOGLE&pagewanted=print&position=

[Brad’s Gramma]

Bumping your post.

[Bobby777]

how does one say "bloody stupid on the part of the pilots" in British pilot-speak?

hope this isn't the majority of British pilots ... I'm sure it isn't ... but I don't get it ... I don't understand at all ... they think they're safer WITHOUT the air marshalls?

[Dont Mention the War]

If true, we should present BA with a choice: Immediately fire all reluctant pilots, or your certificate to fly to or within the United States will be revoked. No flights to America ever. There are several U.S. airlines that would love to pull some planes out of mothballs and take over those routes.

[Servant of the 9]

Cancellation of British Airways flights is not in response to U.S. safety concerns, but rather is being prompted by refusal of British pilots to fly with armed marshals on board

Never forget that what you are hearing from is Pilots Union Professionals and their picked supporters. Like US Police Unions, they are rabidly liberal and anti gun. That is not the opinion of the rank and file, but they can cause a job action.

SO9

[BenLurkin]

Guess they'd prefer to look through the peephole on the cabin doors and see the Muslims slashing the throats of the stewardesses.

[FreedomPoster]

How does this explain the cancelled BA flight from Heathrow to Riyadh?

[tallhappy]

Fire these pilots.

[alnick]

From the article:

The United States had put other nations on notice earlier this week that it would not allow certain suspicious flights into its air space without armed marshals on board.

Seven international flights have now been canceled since last Saturday after the Bush administration began an aggressive approach to defending its air space when the nation was put on orange or "high" alert on Dec. 21. Administration officials said no arrests had been made in connection with any of the more than a dozen international flights subjected to rigorous scrutiny. And officials have acknowledged that even now, they are uncertain whether they have succeeded in foiling a terrorist plot.

First they say that the only reason the flights were cancelled was that the pilots refused to fly with air marshalls on board.

The very next paragraph states that they're uncertain if they have succeeded in foiling a terrorist plot.

[jonascord]

IF this is true, and I take what Drudge says with a large grain of salt, I will still withhold any comment, other than to use it to beat up unions. If EVERY BA pilot would rather enter US airspace with a radar lock from an F-16 at 6:00 o'clock, with some child itching to see what a Sidewinder will do, and the BA pilot is hoping someone he can't even see or talk to is not receiving orders to fire...

I say sure, pull the marshalls... Any complaints, tell the union.

[alnick]

The article further states:

Government officials refuse to talk about key details of their decisions to ground the flights because they are classified.

Obviously, it's not classified that the pilots refused air marshalls. This article is full of contradictions to the claim that the reason these flights were cancelled was because some pilots refused to fly with air marshalls.