security - guns in the air
WORKERS, FEBRUARY 2004 ISSUE
Bush would like to see armed guards (or air marshals as he prefers to call them) on all foreign planes entering American air-space. The British government is one of only a few to agree with this stance. In spite of the opinion of most informed experts on aviation including BALPA (British Airline Pilots Association) the government is still pursuing this hair-brained idea. In a pressurised aircraft the last thing you want is guns going off.
BALPA says that once terrorists are on board an aircraft the situation is already out of control. The point is to try and prevent terrorists from boarding in the first place. A growing number of foreign operators are refusing to comply with Bush's wish. The American government ignores the fact that all the aircraft hijacked on 11 September 2001 were on internal American flights.