Sincere condolences to all those who have lost loved ones,as the individual stories come out it moves us all.
Gentleman Aviator,Flying Gunman & Leviathan....you all make good points.
The Guvnor..you last sentance is correct so why do you only offer problems/criticism?Any senior manager worth his salt demands solutions not just more problems.
We must not just be reactive but be proactive in our approch to ensure we are not wrongfooted by these people thinking one step ahead of us.
Does anyone know of an instance where the skymarshal approach has failed?These people are a deterrent and that is their primary role.For this you would need a maximum of two.
-Round figures £100,000/year..500 flights/year=£200/flight.As low cost carriers are still very much in the minority this typically represents around 1% of ticket price.The increase in fuel costs which will ultimately fall out of this are going to be significantly more than that.
Regulation will simply have to be changed to allow these trained individuals to carry weapons on a UK aircraft.While you are at it train them in cabin crew evacution techniques and reduce the cabin crew requirement by one.
At the end of the day extra security on the ground can easily be avoided;I know of no airfield where the unlit perimeter fence could not be scaled by even the most amateur.Once the implements of terrorism are there the rest is easy...unless you have skymarshals.The public is going to have to pay,and you won't find too many of them complaining about it.
[ 13 September 2001: Message edited by: alosaurus ]