Posted on 08/13/2003 4:08:15 PM PDT by blam
BA halts flights to Saudi Arabia
By Ed Johnson, AP
13 August 2003
British Airways today suspended flights to Saudi Arabia due to heightened security concerns.
The Department for Transport said it had received "credible intelligence of a serious threat to UK aviation interests in Saudi Arabia." It did not elaborate.
"As a matter of precaution we have decided to suspend all flights to Saudi Arabia for the time being and we will continue to liaise closely with the British government," said Geoff Want, the airline's director of safety and security.
The airline normally operates four flights a week to Riyadh and four a week to Jeddah.
The Saudi government has been cracking down on Islamic militants since suicide attacks in Riyadh on 12 May killed 26 people and the nine attackers. Saudi police have stepped up efforts to crush networks of al-Qa'ida, the terror group blamed for the September 11 attacks and the Riyadh bombings.
On Monday, Saudi police arrested 10 militants who allegedly belonged to a terrorist cell planning to attack a British target, according to a Saudi government official.
The Foreign Office has warned against travelling to the kingdom except on essential business. In its latest travel advisory posted last week, the Foreign Office said "Further large or small scale attacks against Western interests in Saudi Arabia remain likely.
"You should maintain a high level of vigilance, particularly in public places frequented by foreigners such as hotels, restaurants and shopping malls. You should adopt a low profile," the advisory added.
Saudi Arabia relies greatly on its population of 6 million expatriate workers, including about 35,000 Americans and about 30,000 Britons, in its communications, power, technology, banking and other sectors. The kingdom counts on many US experts for its oil industry.
The Foreign Office said Wednesday it would be "drawing the British Airways announcement to the attention of the British community in Saudi Arabia."
The Telegraph (UK)
(Filed: 13/08/2003)
British Airways has suspended its flights to Saudi Arabia because a of "serious" risk of terrorist attacks.
The airline grounded its four services a week to Jeddah and Riyadh after holding talks with the Department for Transport.
A department spokesman said: "There is credible intelligence of a serious threat to UK aviation interests in Saudi Arabia."
BA said there were "heightened security concerns in the region" while the British embassy in Riyadh said the threat was "aviation specific".
Geoff Want, BA's safety and security director, added: "As a matter of precaution we have decided to suspend all flights to Saudi Arabia for the time being and we will continue to liaise closely with the British Government."
About 180 passengers had been due to fly to Riyadh on BA 263 at 1.50pm only to learn that the flight had been cancelled, as was the 7.50pm flight from Heathrow to Jeddah. The airline has tried to re-route the passengers or has offered them refunds, a BA spokesman said.
The suspension follows the disruption of BA services to Kenya in May following a similar threat to British planes. The ban was lifted on June 26, with BA resuming services to the city on July 4.
However, British flights to and from the Kenyan resort of Mombasa, where 16 people died in a hotel suicide bombing last November, are still suspended.
The Foreign Office said it did not intend to alter its travel advice about Saudi Arabia following the terror warning.
It already warns Britons against all but essential travel to the country following an upsurge in domestic terrorism, much of which has been linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qa'eda network.
Two Britons were among more than 30 people killed in co-ordinated suicide car bomb attacks on three Western compounds in Riyadh in May.
In February, a Briton was shot and killed while waiting in his car at a set of traffic lights in the Saudi capital.
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