BA cancels Saudi Flights
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CNN are also corroborating this story. BA have posted the information on their website, although it's not clear what the nature of the threat is.
From BA.com:
British Airways has suspended until further notice its flights to Saudi Arabia due to heightened security concerns in the region.
This decision follows discussions earlier today between the airline and the British government's Department for Transport.
Geoff Want, the airline’s director of safety and security, said, “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.”
Today, British Airways cancelled its flights from London Heathrow to both Riyadh and Jeddah.
From BA.com:
British Airways has suspended until further notice its flights to Saudi Arabia due to heightened security concerns in the region.
This decision follows discussions earlier today between the airline and the British government's Department for Transport.
Geoff Want, the airline’s director of safety and security, said, “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.”
Today, British Airways cancelled its flights from London Heathrow to both Riyadh and Jeddah.
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Its on the BBC as breaking news as well.
Again, no specific threat or incident mentioned.
Armed fighting is suggested to have broken out on the streets of Riyadh with Islamic militants.
Again, no specific threat or incident mentioned.
Armed fighting is suggested to have broken out on the streets of Riyadh with Islamic militants.
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Another 45 minute warning maybe? The trouble with spin is it takes a long time to slow down - the gyroscope principle.
Ramp up the alarm level and keep the threat before the public's mind, and appear to be competent.
Our Tony is doing everything for your safety........... Vote Tony.
Ramp up the alarm level and keep the threat before the public's mind, and appear to be competent.
Our Tony is doing everything for your safety........... Vote Tony.
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Plane Truth
By no means, but terroists thrive on the sort of disinformation that our (UK) government has become so adept at spreading. I now distrust our government completely........
Given that there is a small but finite risk it may be a prudent step not to travel on target carriers, or at all; but the problem seems to be that nobody asks that crucial question, "Why are we so hated?", and what are we going to do about it?
To quote Bill Bryson (an American), "Britain fought and won WWII, dismantled a mighty empire in a benign and enlightened way, created the welfare state -- in short, did nearly everything right -- then spent the rest of the century regarding itself as a chronic failure."
Having been a colonial power it is now a capital error to associate ourselves with the neo-colonialists.
Given that the world has become, or is perceived to have become, a much more dangerous place post 9/11; it is probably safer to stay at home - which of course rather puts the mockers on the aviation industry, but does reduce the need for oil!
By no means, but terroists thrive on the sort of disinformation that our (UK) government has become so adept at spreading. I now distrust our government completely........
Given that there is a small but finite risk it may be a prudent step not to travel on target carriers, or at all; but the problem seems to be that nobody asks that crucial question, "Why are we so hated?", and what are we going to do about it?
To quote Bill Bryson (an American), "Britain fought and won WWII, dismantled a mighty empire in a benign and enlightened way, created the welfare state -- in short, did nearly everything right -- then spent the rest of the century regarding itself as a chronic failure."
Having been a colonial power it is now a capital error to associate ourselves with the neo-colonialists.
Given that the world has become, or is perceived to have become, a much more dangerous place post 9/11; it is probably safer to stay at home - which of course rather puts the mockers on the aviation industry, but does reduce the need for oil!
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Stay at home if you like. I'm paid to go flying!
If you really want to frighten yourself, just think that perhaps these terrorists don't necessarily hate you, they just want to blow you up. Why? Umm, dunno exactly, but I think they like getting attention for their agendas, half-thought out though they may be.
`Neo-colonialist´? Puh-leeze! Are you seriously suggesting that some vague threat against civil aviation can somehow be tied to an even more vague alleged agenda being pursued by George W. Bush and his best friend Tony Blair? You see the mess we are in now in Iraq. You think those two are looking at this as a vote-winner, when winning votes is top of the agenda?
Just how would you expect Great Britain to sort this one out? Expel our Envoy to the Court of Saint James and have the Queen go veiled? Even if you ended up with the People's Islamic Republic of Formerly Great Britain then you would just see terrorism in the name of various feuding sects.
You might be better off trying to come up with some degree of trust in your democratically elected government and the courage to get out and about in the face of this degree of risk.
If you really want to frighten yourself, just think that perhaps these terrorists don't necessarily hate you, they just want to blow you up. Why? Umm, dunno exactly, but I think they like getting attention for their agendas, half-thought out though they may be.
`Neo-colonialist´? Puh-leeze! Are you seriously suggesting that some vague threat against civil aviation can somehow be tied to an even more vague alleged agenda being pursued by George W. Bush and his best friend Tony Blair? You see the mess we are in now in Iraq. You think those two are looking at this as a vote-winner, when winning votes is top of the agenda?
Just how would you expect Great Britain to sort this one out? Expel our Envoy to the Court of Saint James and have the Queen go veiled? Even if you ended up with the People's Islamic Republic of Formerly Great Britain then you would just see terrorism in the name of various feuding sects.
You might be better off trying to come up with some degree of trust in your democratically elected government and the courage to get out and about in the face of this degree of risk.
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Different words
Chuks urges me to put "trust in your democratically elected government"; as many have found to their cost democratic elections don't ensure trustworthyness.
As to having "the courage to get out & about" I was in the desert during the first Iraq war and didn't notice too much civil aviation in the vicinity!
As to having "the courage to get out & about" I was in the desert during the first Iraq war and didn't notice too much civil aviation in the vicinity!
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NEWSLETTER 19-03 06Aug2003
The Foreign & Commonwealth Office Travel Advice for Saudi Arabia has been amended. The Foreign Office has discontinued automatic authorised voluntary departure of staff and of dependants of our diplomatic missions in Saudi Arabia. Nevertheless, the Travel Advice for Saudi Arabia continues to advise against all but essential travel to the Kingdom.
NEWSLETTER 20-03 14 Aug2003
The Foreign & Commonwealth Office Travel Advice for Saudi Arabia has been amended to warn of information about a threat to British aviation interests in the Kingdom. As a precautionary measure British Airways is currently suspending all flights to Riyadh and Jeddah and will be continually reviewing the situation. The Travel Advice for Saudi Arabia continues to advise against all but essential travel to the Kingdom and to warn of the likelihood of further attacks against Western interests.
The reason for that change in policy is this......
RIYADH, 13 August 2003 — Three Saudi policemen were killed in a major shootout between security forces and suspected terrorists here yesterday, an Interior Ministry official said. The official said a suspected militant and two policemen were injured in the incident.
An unspecified number of militants were arrested, a source told Arab News.
Armed police laid siege to the Al-Suwaidi district in the south of the capital on Monday evening, hours after 10 suspected militants escaped a gunbattle in north Riyadh.
The Interior Ministry immediately announced that all members of the gang escaped, contradicting media reports that they were arrested.
It was unclear last night, however, whether the latest shootout involved the same gang which escaped earlier.
Armed police, the source added, stormed several villas in the Al-Suwaidi district, including a building under construction, in the late afternoon while helicopter gunships hovered overhead.
Eyewitnesses reported that armed men in the buildings hurled hand grenades and fired automatic rifles.
They appeared determined to fight to the death rather than surrender, as have all other militants in a string of similar violent confrontations following the May 12 suicide bombings in Riyadh.
Twenty-six bystanders including seven Saudis and nine Americans as well as nine attackers died in the bombing.
At least 200 suspects have been arrested, more than a dozen killed and thousands interrogated following the blasts.
Al-Suwaidi district, the scene of yesterday’s gunbattle, is one of Riyadh’s less affluent.
Newswires reported that the suspected militants opened fire on members of the special security forces who besieged the villas in the district.
Exchanges of fire resumed at around 7:30 p.m. after a brief lull in the shootout. Power was cut and security forces used searchlights.
Residents said the hunt for the militants started on Monday night. Villas in the area of the shootout were evacuated yesterday evening as security forces took up positions on rooftops.
According to one report, more than 15 were wounded in the shootout.
A resident told Reuters at least five houses were targeted in the raid. “The operation is very big. The whole area is surrounded by security police. It is a big area,” he added.
Police cordoned off the area, preventing passers-by and reporters from approaching.
Saudi Arabia has cracked down hard on militants after the May bombings, which targeted compounds housing foreigners.
Washington and Riyadh blame the bombings on Al-Qaeda.
The latest shootout came after 10 suspected terrorists on Sunday fired on police before fleeing from a rest house used to store weapons and explosives.
A source told Arab News that the suspects were all armed with machine guns. No security officers were injured.
A search of the rest house revealed a large cache of weapons and explosives and several ID cards.
Last month, security forces exchanged fire with suspected militants at a farm in Al-Qasim after learning from intelligence sources that some of the 19 Al-Qaeda members wanted in connection with the May 12 bombings were hiding there.
Six terror suspects and two police officers were killed in the shootout. The Interior Ministry said one of the Saudis — Ahmed ibn Nasser Al-Dakheel — killed in that battle was on the wanted list.
The ministry has urged the other wanted militants to surrender and warned the public against sheltering or sympathizing with wanted terror suspects.
The 19 individuals on the wanted list are considered by the authorities to be part of a group that had direct connections with the Al-Qaeda terrorist network.
Mutt.
The Foreign & Commonwealth Office Travel Advice for Saudi Arabia has been amended. The Foreign Office has discontinued automatic authorised voluntary departure of staff and of dependants of our diplomatic missions in Saudi Arabia. Nevertheless, the Travel Advice for Saudi Arabia continues to advise against all but essential travel to the Kingdom.
NEWSLETTER 20-03 14 Aug2003
The Foreign & Commonwealth Office Travel Advice for Saudi Arabia has been amended to warn of information about a threat to British aviation interests in the Kingdom. As a precautionary measure British Airways is currently suspending all flights to Riyadh and Jeddah and will be continually reviewing the situation. The Travel Advice for Saudi Arabia continues to advise against all but essential travel to the Kingdom and to warn of the likelihood of further attacks against Western interests.
The reason for that change in policy is this......
RIYADH, 13 August 2003 — Three Saudi policemen were killed in a major shootout between security forces and suspected terrorists here yesterday, an Interior Ministry official said. The official said a suspected militant and two policemen were injured in the incident.
An unspecified number of militants were arrested, a source told Arab News.
Armed police laid siege to the Al-Suwaidi district in the south of the capital on Monday evening, hours after 10 suspected militants escaped a gunbattle in north Riyadh.
The Interior Ministry immediately announced that all members of the gang escaped, contradicting media reports that they were arrested.
It was unclear last night, however, whether the latest shootout involved the same gang which escaped earlier.
Armed police, the source added, stormed several villas in the Al-Suwaidi district, including a building under construction, in the late afternoon while helicopter gunships hovered overhead.
Eyewitnesses reported that armed men in the buildings hurled hand grenades and fired automatic rifles.
They appeared determined to fight to the death rather than surrender, as have all other militants in a string of similar violent confrontations following the May 12 suicide bombings in Riyadh.
Twenty-six bystanders including seven Saudis and nine Americans as well as nine attackers died in the bombing.
At least 200 suspects have been arrested, more than a dozen killed and thousands interrogated following the blasts.
Al-Suwaidi district, the scene of yesterday’s gunbattle, is one of Riyadh’s less affluent.
Newswires reported that the suspected militants opened fire on members of the special security forces who besieged the villas in the district.
Exchanges of fire resumed at around 7:30 p.m. after a brief lull in the shootout. Power was cut and security forces used searchlights.
Residents said the hunt for the militants started on Monday night. Villas in the area of the shootout were evacuated yesterday evening as security forces took up positions on rooftops.
According to one report, more than 15 were wounded in the shootout.
A resident told Reuters at least five houses were targeted in the raid. “The operation is very big. The whole area is surrounded by security police. It is a big area,” he added.
Police cordoned off the area, preventing passers-by and reporters from approaching.
Saudi Arabia has cracked down hard on militants after the May bombings, which targeted compounds housing foreigners.
Washington and Riyadh blame the bombings on Al-Qaeda.
The latest shootout came after 10 suspected terrorists on Sunday fired on police before fleeing from a rest house used to store weapons and explosives.
A source told Arab News that the suspects were all armed with machine guns. No security officers were injured.
A search of the rest house revealed a large cache of weapons and explosives and several ID cards.
Last month, security forces exchanged fire with suspected militants at a farm in Al-Qasim after learning from intelligence sources that some of the 19 Al-Qaeda members wanted in connection with the May 12 bombings were hiding there.
Six terror suspects and two police officers were killed in the shootout. The Interior Ministry said one of the Saudis — Ahmed ibn Nasser Al-Dakheel — killed in that battle was on the wanted list.
The ministry has urged the other wanted militants to surrender and warned the public against sheltering or sympathizing with wanted terror suspects.
The 19 individuals on the wanted list are considered by the authorities to be part of a group that had direct connections with the Al-Qaeda terrorist network.
Mutt.
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interestedparty:
Just how ****ty can you get?
The British (i.e.my) Government has tipped off the British flag carrier about a possible terrorist attack. BA has taken it sufficiently seriously to call off flights at great commercial cost.
And the best that you can do is a snide gibe at Tony Blair.
For God's sake grow up.
Just how ****ty can you get?
The British (i.e.my) Government has tipped off the British flag carrier about a possible terrorist attack. BA has taken it sufficiently seriously to call off flights at great commercial cost.
And the best that you can do is a snide gibe at Tony Blair.
For God's sake grow up.
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Dare I ask `Interestedparty´ which side he was on when he was out in the desert during Gulf War I? Hahahahaha... Ooops! Here comes Matron with my medication. Must remember to keep taking the lithium...
I was interested to see the extensive debrief after the failed shootdown attempt on the Arkia 757, when the press told we the reading public, including the perpetrators, just where they went wrong: too close, wrong angle, must do better next time. Or do we assume these guys cannot read?
There are a lot of interesting aspects to this whole question of what to do in response to a terrorist threat against civil aviation but this forum sure isn't the place for more than a very general discussion. I find some of the registered participants half a ball out of trim (as some of them do me, perhaps) and God only knows who else is silently looking in on this.
All I can say is that I plan to carry on with business as usual insofar as I can do that. To get in a tizz over some spoilt rich Arab boy's sudden quest for social justice and Islamic purity (or just a payback for some blonde girl laughing at his tiny willy): isn't that just what he would want me to do?
I was interested to see the extensive debrief after the failed shootdown attempt on the Arkia 757, when the press told we the reading public, including the perpetrators, just where they went wrong: too close, wrong angle, must do better next time. Or do we assume these guys cannot read?
There are a lot of interesting aspects to this whole question of what to do in response to a terrorist threat against civil aviation but this forum sure isn't the place for more than a very general discussion. I find some of the registered participants half a ball out of trim (as some of them do me, perhaps) and God only knows who else is silently looking in on this.
All I can say is that I plan to carry on with business as usual insofar as I can do that. To get in a tizz over some spoilt rich Arab boy's sudden quest for social justice and Islamic purity (or just a payback for some blonde girl laughing at his tiny willy): isn't that just what he would want me to do?
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I think there is far more going on in Saudi, vis a vis terrorism, than meets the eye.
It struck me as very strange that prior to the Iraqi invasion the U.S. Central Command moved its H.Q. to Qatar, with little or no explanation. Even CNN which reports incessantly on missing cats barely mentioned the CentCom move,let alone the reason for it.
It struck me as very strange that prior to the Iraqi invasion the U.S. Central Command moved its H.Q. to Qatar, with little or no explanation. Even CNN which reports incessantly on missing cats barely mentioned the CentCom move,let alone the reason for it.