Heathrow closed to incoming flights

[Sooty]

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the air...

BBC News

The thing that strikes me is that it is all very well making passengers take their very restricted items of hand luggage on board in a see-through plastic bag, but what about the fanatic who is perfectly happy to put a bomb in his suitcase in the hold and die with the rest of the passengers? Or one who wishes to (quite literally) stick Semtex up his *rse? It must be awful to be abroad and waiting to fly home, knowing that this is going on. Thank goodness Tony Blair wasn't blown up mid-air as he left for his well earned summer holiday...

 

[Ferdinase514]

I think the security for hold baggage is tight already. That's the impression I got on Radio 4 this morning. They are trying to stop people taking on things that they could use to construct a bomb mid air.

 

[hayliana]

first thoughts - well done to the police for discovering the plot!

 

[CSYMolly]

Scary stuff indeed. Two of my guys at work are in the US at the moment, one due to fly back tomorrow, not sure if that will happen and a third is due to fly out on sunday. This world has just gone mad such evil people

 

[SillyMare]

Or perhaps well done to police for discovering one of the plots / part of the plot. It's all very worrying!

Don't think this problem is going to go away until we take a long, hard look at our foreign policy!

 

[siennamiller]

MARVELLOUS! I am off to work for an airline in an hour

should be a fun day - NOT!
Oh well, at least they hve acted quickly, better than a flight blowing up or something

 

[CSYMolly]

For sure I was saying that this morning, I get tired of hearing people ranting and raving when the police get it wrong (they are human after all) but when they get it right nobody stops to think of all the lives they have just saved. Not to mention all the foiled terrorist plots we don't even get to hear about, I think they are doing a fab job.

 

[Sooty]

I am not convinced. Having lived through the worst years of the IRA mainland bombing campaigns I am well aware of how bombs can be detonated, and I am simply not convinced that hold luggage is well enough checked. Except on El Al airlines, which have better security than any other airline in the world. In the 'old days' suicide bombing was unheard of, now sadly it is becoming the norm.

 

[Sooty]

I imagine it would be the security and intelligence services who actually uncovered the plot? Anyway, regardless, just as well. Assuming such a plot did actually exist, and it is not yet another ploy to take the minds of the populace off other world events...

 

[spaniel]

Gatwick now also shut to incoming and outgoing flights.

 

[jellybaby]

OH is due to fly tomorrow evening to come home for the weekend, his flight has been cancelled and the airlines and airports are expecting severe delays and cancellations for 72 hours
The only *perk* of his job is that he can borrow a plane and fly himself home for the weekend! Sometimes the RAF just about come up trumps!


JB xx

 

[Autumna1]

Apparently they were plotting to blow up 10 jumbo jets in flight - nice people.

What p*sses me off about these scumbags is that they are happy to live in this country, doubtless claiming benefits and enjoying things like the free health service, bouyant economy etc. If they despise the Western culture, its ethos and its Christianity so much, then why don't they just f*ck off back to whatever impoverished, warlord ridden dustbowl they claim to hail from and get on with it? I firmly believe that we should not interfere in other cultures - look at the state Iraq is in now - and we should certainly not try to Westernise them.

Our country welcomes those who wish to embrace our culture and way of life and allows them to follow their own religious practices without undue restriction. Why can't we just welcome those who wish to live here in peace and leave those who don't to live in the chaos and violence of their own making.

 

[jellybaby]

Here Here
Well said.
If you don't like us, then sod off!

JB xx

 

[Skhosu]

Well said! And yet, some people would call that racist/unfair!
Not me, we do far too much to allow people to slag off our way of life/country and avoid being called racist or anti-foreigners(sp) and end up in situations like this.

 

[Fairynuff]

My friend was over for a week and was due to fly back today from Turin. Shes taking the train tomorrow to Paris and then onto London. Ive always hated flying but now!!!!!-no way.M.

 

[dee378]

My dad is out in the USA at the moment, due to leave on friday. I can't believe what sick bastards are in this world. All they wanted to do was cause as much destruction as possible. Targeting flights over the atlantic especially as they will be between the main two countries the UK and USA. The world's getting more fu**ed up day by day. I just want dad home

 

[Dotilas]

Hmmm... I'm practically sh*tting myself now.

I'm flying to Barbados tomorrow morning, and despite being told that it was only flights to the USA, isn't it all transatlantic flights at risk? And wouldn't a flight to Barbados cause just as much damage as any other flight?

 

[MagicMelon]

They wouldnt blow up an aeroplane to Barbados because its not an important enough place (if you know what I mean) - I think terrorists prefer ones going to big destinations like NY, Washington etc. etc. to make the biggest impact?

I know its scary, but there are thousands of aeroplanes flying all round the world every single day (maybe not so many in the UK today.....) so the chances of YOUR aeroplane being a target are pretty slim. You have more chance of being killed walking across the street. Not sure if that makes you feel any better about flying but you know what I mean!!

 

[Sooty]

Immediately after a scare like this is probably the safest time to travel. Security will be at its highest. I can understand you are worried, but no planes will be flying across the Atlantic unless it is safe to do so. I can imagine you must be very worried, and you are right about these people. This is not an act borne out of desperation, it is borne out of malice, resentment and evil.

 

[Sooty]

I'm really sorry to read that because I remember how excited you were when you found out where you were going. The knock-on effect of these actions is incalculable, but see previous post - security will be paramount.

 

[emma69]

Several airports are using 'sniffers' which smells any trace of explosives on a person - they puff air at you and it detects tiny particles. Hopefully these will be rolled out more extensively. As I commented on this site, I was asked to prove that my water was in fact water when I flew to the UK this summer - liquids have obviously been on the radar for some time. I really do commend the security services for picking this up - let's hope they got all of them. It's horrid that people feel so strongly about things, be it indoctrination or otherwise, that they feel the need to kill themsleves and others to make a political statement. I also feel very sorry for Pakistani communities who will bear the brunt of the reprecussions, because of the actions of a few.

 

[Rachael_jack]

My brother and his g.f are out in turkey and he has been delayed he cant fly back tonight becuase of this sick act!
I want him home now the more i think of it the more i worry....

 

[Sooty]

I didn't realise until last night that the group who had been planning these acts had been under surveillance by MI5 and the US security services since the end of December last year. Apparently, the more mature a plot is, the more people they can catch. Some were British, some Pakinistani. I had never heard of liquid explosives until last night, apparently they are very hard to stabilise so not very suitable for the job they planned - probably would have blown up on the way to the airport!