31 Yemeni Residents Detained at JFK

AP | 2/20/02

[kattracks]

NEW YORK, Feb 20, 2002 (AP Online via COMTEX) -- Authorities refused to let 31 Yemeni passengers board a flight departing from John F. Kennedy International Airport because they did not have proper visas, the Port Authority said Wednesday.

The group was scheduled to take British Airways Flight 116 at 11 p.m. Tuesday to Yemen with a connection in London, Port Authority spokesman Sgt. Jeff Baumbach said.

They were barred from the flight and detained after the visa problem came to light, Baumbach said. He said the airline called the FBI, whose Joint Terrorist Task Force responded to investigate.

The 31 detainees apparently all booked their tickets with the same travel agent, Baumbach said. It was unclear what type of visas they lacked or how long they would be held in custody.

"Safety and security are paramount at BA," a British Airways spokeswoman said. "The group did not have the proper travel documents, and thus the security process was taken to the next step."

Telephone calls early Wednesday to the FBI were not immediately returned.

Copyright 2002 Associated Press, All rights reserved

[Stultis]

Any more on this?

[kattracks]

Not yet.

[Tall_Texan]

C'mon folks. They're just tourists. They wanted to visit Ground Zero and admire their handiwork. Nothing to see here...

[DooDahhhh]

Yeah! Let em leave with a promise to never come back. After a lengthy detention and destroying their shoe bombs.

[dennisw]

UK does not want them!!!

[Falcon4.0]

Here we go!
Flood the gates with potentials and rely on the ACLU to do the rest.

[toddst]

How did these people get here (be admitted) in the first place? We'll never hear that part of the story.

[muawiyah]

Yemeni residents must have both an exit visa and a re-entry visa before they may leave Yemen. There are thousands of Yemeni people stranded in countries around the world because their own government will not give them visas to return - and they change the rules on visas frequently.

[Miss Marple]

So, the 5 Yemeni suspected terrorists on the list (with photos) that were on that high alert list and were subsequently arrested in Yemen, therefore left Yemen and returned to Yemen with that country's knowledge and permission?

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

Good point, Miss Marple.....

[genefromjersey]

It was on ABC last night-but was apparently not important enough for CNN or the Washington Post. 31 men, all reportedly American Citizens, attempted to fly from NY to London to Yemen.They had all purchased one way tickets,paying cash.( Quelle coincidence, M'sieu ! )

They were pissing and moaning on camera last night: search us ! Search our luggage ! You will find nothing !

It is probably fortunate nobody was buying into their "everybody picks on me" story:think what 31 determined young male passengers could do during a flight.

With that number of warm bodies, a group could overcome an armed Sky Marshal: ( who would eventually run out of ammo ), or any other resistance; could murder Flight Attendants and passengers with their bare hands;could, perhaps, force open an emergency exit while the plane was at high altitude;could possibly force open the cabin door and take control of the plane.

I suspect, even if the plot failed, its "sponsors" planned to exploit the failure by triggering some sort of outraged ACLU intervention, that would, down the road, seriously compromise airport security.

In short, very possibly a win-win situation for Terror !

[putupon]

31 unarmed arabs would have a good chance of being able to hijack a plane even if it had one or two armed sky marshalls on board. this incident coupled with the armed iranian attempting to board in miami could mean another attempt at simultaneous attacks.

[cardinal4]

Fox doesnt have it,checking the other networks...

[fivecatsandadog]

The title clearly states: 31 Yemeni RESIDENTS

The article states: "...because they did not have proper visas"

You said: "all reportedly American Citizens,"

Where do you get "American Citizens" from this?

[fivecatsandadog]

CNN.com

**31** all booked their tickets with the same agent .. Yemen Central High School field trip?

[cardinal4]

Yemen Central High School field trip?

LOL,its a Yemen-USA friendship group!You know how much Middle Easterners love the US and all things western.Seriously,all of them were booked at the same time?If it was terrorism,they are not using tradecraft very well.

[fivecatsandadog]

There's another thread on FR quoting an article from the New York Post (posted by areafiftyone). Says that only SOME were detained, and it's not real clear, but sounds like some did board the flight. ????

[Gargantua]

Sometimes the best tradecraft, especially when the guards are watching the back door and under the corners of the tent, is to stride in right through the front door as if you belong there.

If this is true [31 one-way tickets all purchased with cash?!!], I'd be taking a long hard look at this group also.

[FreedomPoster]

Load'em up on a C-17, drop'em over Yemen. If they are cooperative and respectful in-flight, I'm even willing to let them have a parachute each.