Spotters asked to prevent terrorism!
Hi all
Ian Shoesmith from BBC News again. I was the fella who did the pilot fatigue investigation, along with transport correspondent Tom Symonds. We're just about to run with this story this morning:
"Plane spotters are set to be recruited by the police to help safeguard an airport from criminal and terrorist activity. Durham Tees Valley airport near Darlington is looking at the possibility of an 'airport watch' scheme. Danny Savage reports:
The airport says the scheme would harness aircraft spotters' expert knowledge and regular presence and add it to existing safety measures.A similar initiative has been up and running at Bristol Airport since March this year, using spotters as extra eyes and ears for the police and on-site security staff. Organisers are stressing a meeting next week to discuss the proposals was arranged long before the recent incident at Glasgow airport. But police say they believe that plane spotters could potentially be the first to spot any suspicious activity at the airport."
We'd be very interested in hearing from you all about this -- particularly spotters. If you could email me [email protected] including a phone number, I'd be very grateful.
Best wishes
Ian