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Homeland Security Undersecretary Asa Hutchinson yesterday told senators that Secret Service agents and other armed federal officials are being used to bolster the Federal Air Marshal Service's efforts to guard airplanes from terrorist attacks.     "We're trying to make sure, through additional resources, that we really increase the number of flights that are covered," Mr. Hutchinson told the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee during a hearing on the September 11 commission report.

De Volkskrant newspaper reports that armed military police will be deployed on high-risk international flights by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines from next week. These sky marshals will travel incognito and will be authorised to shoot in the event of a hijacking. The agents underwent secret training in Germany and Israel last year on the orders of the Justice Ministry. In the wake of the September 11 attacks, KLM pushed for armed guards on selected flights but met with safety objections from their pilots. All technical, legal and safety problems now appear to have been resolved.

El Al, Israel's national airline, has started using more female security guards as Air Marshals on passenger airplanes. A report by Yedioth Ahronot published Sunday said that there is a growing trend of employing women as Air Marshals. Several women have in recent years broken through to some male dominated Israel Defense Forces units, including Air Force combat pilots and front-line infantry. El Al is reputed to have the world's most stringent airline security, and its guards – all graduates of IDF combat units – are put through a difficult training and testing program. According to Yediot, their training is...

The chief executive of British Airways says his airline will accept the presence of armed sky marshals on its flights, but he has also condemned the "needless bureaucracy" involved in some US security checks. The comments by BA chief executive Rod Eddington, in an article published in the Financial Times, follow earlier reports that the British flag carrier would rather cancel flights than be forced to accept guns on its planes. Mr Eddington also acknowledged that security alerts which caused a series of BA flights to the United States and the Middle East to be cancelled or delayed this month...

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (Reuters) -- Dutch carrier KLM, Europe's fourth-largest airline, says it is willing to put air marshals on some of its flights under certain conditions. KLM, which is awaiting regulatory clearance for its proposed takeover by Air France, said those included defining the responsibilities of the various parties if a marshal was deployed. "If for instance an armed air marshal uses his gun and injures someone on board, who would have the responsibility for that?" KLM spokesman Frank Houben said. The United States has ordered foreign airlines to put armed marshals on some flights to guard against possible attacks...

LONDON (AP) -- British pilots won assurances from the government Tuesday that they will be told when armed sky marshals are on board their flights, but demanded to know where the guard is seated and to be able to maintain regular contact. Meanwhile, a British Airways flight from London to Washington, which was canceled twice last week over security fears, was delayed for the fourth consecutive day Tuesday because of U.S.-requested security checks. On Tuesday, British Air Line Pilots' Association said it would advise its members - nearly 90 percent of Britain's 9,200 commercial pilots - not to fly with...

<p>January 5, 2004 -- Federal air marshals intervened in 840 cases of suspicious passenger activity during a two-year period starting the week of the 9/11 attacks. That's 40 percent of the total 2,100 incidents involving air marshals.</p> <p>A congressional investigation into how the marshals are doing their job also shows there have been 28 arrests or detainments of passengers and three cases where marshals discharged their weapons.</p>

<p>LONDON — Some international airlines said Monday they would cooperate with a U.S. requirement for sky marshals on certain flights as part of a heightened terror alert. Others said they already were using armed marshals.</p> <p>Britain has declared its willingness to deploy sky marshals. The Department of Transport said Britain was in "regular contact with the U.S. government about security matters," but stressed that "only the U.K. can authorize the placing of air marshals on U.K. carriers."</p>

Gun guards on British flights to US By Toby Helm and Sean O'Neill (Filed: 29/12/2003) The immediate deployment of armed sky marshals on British transatlantic airliners was sanctioned by the Government last night because of a heightened threat of terrorist attacks. More screening at British airports and protection of aircraft while on the ground have also been ordered. A joint statement issued by Alistair Darling, the Transport Secretary, and David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, said that measures to prevent "any takeover of the aircraft cockpit" would be taken when necessary. "Where appropriate", this would mean "the deployment of the covert...

TERRORISM: Part Time Sky Marshals April 29, 2002; One recent suggestion (which the FAA is not taking seriously) is to have reserve military officers and senior NCOs who have pistol certifications spend their two weeks of active duty each year flying as sky marshals. This would put hundreds of extra security types into airliners without really increasing the cost, since they would be paid to do various training or extra duties around active bases anyway. --Stephen V Cole