Maximum terror alert in the UK - flights disrupted

ALL incoming flights? did something just happened or it is just security measurements?

I think they are just over-run with people, and if no planes are leaving they are probably over-run with planes!

If 'something just happened', I think LHR would be closed, period.

Just passing on what the BBC say. They say that Lufthansa has cancelled all UK flights, and that LHR is closed to all flights not already in the air.

Think you could be right. I just read that there's a few health & safety risks at the moment with the airport getting so full.

AF among other airlines who to have also suspended flights to LHR.

And a terror risk as well I would imagine, potentially there are a group of people who now cannot carry on their "devices", instead they have a jam-packed airport. Hmm.

@ ben: i just wanted to give out the info on BA... might be of interest for some...

Looks like they are getting stuck in the well they made for other middle eastern countries.

I agree with you potbelly... The problems right now are probably caused by the people at the airport not knowing about it and being totally unprepared to travel with no handluggage. It will get back to normal, even if they continue with the no-handbagage policy.

I certainly won't miss getting frustrated with people who do not understand the mobile phone rules. Last time I landed here in Frankfurt the person sitting next to me was on the phone telling someone they had landed before we had even slowed down on the runway!!!

To be honest the hund luggage thing used to piss me off anway as some people would take 2 massive bits of hand luggage and completely fill an overhead locker with it leaving no room to even put a jacket in them. And all because they save 10 minutes at the other end.

Also a big thanks to shrub and liar as they really do seem to have made the world a much safer place.

@planetmoni: No worries - it was OG that I was objecting to!

I think we'll only know what's really happening in a few hours/days. There does seem to be a delay on getting accurate info.

This is from the AAP:

and


Read the rest here: British police foil plot to bomb planes - MSN News

And the paranoia continues...

Frankly I find the scariest place is actually on the ground, waiting to check-in at Heathrow. Thousands of people and no checks of course until you get airside. Terrorism really is an evil pain in the arse.

What seems pretty worrying is this is a frank admission that all those scanning machines, baby wipe explosive detectors, feel-ups, shoe scans and wotnot are full of flaws and it's still highly possible to carry explosives onto a plane.

hope Blair is happy with himself, I guess at some stage today we can expect a smiley speech from him congratulating our police force on such a wonderful intelligence job, when actually his policies are a contributing cause of it all anyway.
I suppose Bush is gonna spout a lot of similar shite too, cunningly disguise his glee at yet another terror alert as concern.
fuckers

yeah right

Well we have brought it upon ourselves really. Between the 2 fuckwits they have managed to create a massive new wave of support for terrorism. Based on this I don't mind the extra security although I fear it's only a matter of time before something happens again. If it does I know who I will be blaming.

In the meantime I'll accept the added security if it reduces mine and other peoples chances of getting blown up. It's hardly that much of an inconvenience.

Passengers on flights to the US have already been subjected to secondary searches at Munich airport for a couple of years now.

Since my flight through Heathrow is still more than three weeks away, I think I'll hold off on changing my travel plans for this trip. It seems this stuff will get sorted out before then.

For the average person flying from London to somewhere in Europe, no hand luggage is not a big inconvenience except for people who didn't want to check stuff in at all. The flights are pretty short. Flying from London to the US with a toddler and no hand luggage, however, is even more of a nightmare prospect than just flying with a toddler already is.

But I will avoid Heathrow in future. I should have ruled out flying through there already for this flight. I've done it before, when I was booking flights shortly after the Christmas season mess a couple of years ago.


I doubt it. I think Bush will let Homeland Security deal with the public on this one.

I'm due to fly on the 5pm flight to Birmingham airport today.
Information not easy to find.
Can all the people shouting paranoia please shut the fuck up.
Exploding planes over UK land is a sore topic if you come from near Lockerbie so please cock off right now. Thanks.

Damn. We flew in to Heathrow last night. Just woke up and heard about this. I hope its all sorted by Sunday when we fly back!!!

Damn.
(Its spookily quiet living under a flight path but with no flights)

True. Its gonna be a logistics nightmare now on the ground at Heathrow. I also wonder why hand baggage is considered a weak link? Security personnel atleast get a chance to have a good look at it. I'd be woried about checked-in baggage if they get to the plane without being scanned.

Bush's poll numbers are in the tank, that is what is happening. After Tuesday's elections and the anti-incumbancy mood was seen in the states, they had to do something to bring back the terror card into play.

The headlines should read "Plot To Disrupt Transportation Discovered-UK and US on high alert disrupting traffic. Bush states that we are not safe, have to stay the course, either you're with us or you are soft on terror."

I think that I heard something about using the clothes we wear to blow up planes flying into Munich from France, Sweden and Norway. I think that they suspect stewardess'.

Hellesangel, you've hit the nail right on the head! There are new technologies available that CAN detect explosives but the Airports won't invest in new technology. The airports skive off the extra money passengers pay for "security" and use it to bolster their profits. Anyone in the business knows that Xrays don't tell you very much. It is all designed to give the public a false sense of security.

From the BBC article...


There's your answer

eurovol, that is utter shite. I'm no fan of the Regime, but surely Blair is no longer pissing his pants to make Bush happy, for one thing. Fat lot of good it's done him so far.

For the other, "stay the course" is by now looking like it's not working, if there are still such plots about after so many years.

If the Bushies try to interfere at all with this, I'd imagine the spin will be aimed at damage control instead of more promotion of fear. That wolf has cried too many times.

actually basic info on BHX was quite easy to find. The BBC have a link on the News homepage:

At-a-glance: UK airports


heightened security measures at BHX

Anyone else on LH today? Is 0180 - LUFTHANSA (0180 - 5 83 84 26) the best contact number?

OG - I don't know if my flight will actually leave Munich. And this is the info which I need. That info you posted I already have.

cinzia:

the list of items allowed includes

'Baby food, milk (the contents of each bottle had to be tasted by the accompanying passenger) and sanitary items sufficient and essential for those taking an infant on a flight (nappies, wipes, creams and nappy disposal bags)'

Katrina, only flights to London have been cancelled by LH so far (from BBC). Best to wait a couple of hours before calling them.

The question for Katrina will be whether Birmingham will also close to incoming flights within Europe because of congestion with the flights going out.

Hopefully they will have that sorted by later today, Katrina.

Yes, it is right. paranoia, further propagation of this ongoing culture of fear, etc. whatever you want to call it.

not to be entirely cynical but being living in fear or paranoia, or even being ultra-zealous over security to protect against the 'evil terrorists' is not going to actually make any difference in preventing an attack at the end of the day. that's the bottom line. Admitting that is not a sign of defeat or weakness or giving up, but an indication that the root causes of the problems should be addressed and that people should change their mentalities--first of which is not to get angry...everyone is already angry, and we can see what happens when people try to deal with things when they are angry.

Sigh

in fact the full list so far seems to be:

Pocket-sized wallets and purses, plus contents
Travel documents essential for the journey
Prescription medicines and medical items sufficient and essential for the flight, except in liquid form unless verified as authentic
Spectacles and sunglasses, without cases
Contact lens holders, without bottles of solution
Baby food, milk (the contents of each bottle had to be tasted by the accompanying passenger) and sanitary items sufficient and essential for those taking an infant on a flight (nappies, wipes, creams and nappy disposal bags)
Female sanitary items sufficient and essential for the flight, if unboxed (for example, tampons, pads, towels and wipes)
Tissues (unboxed) and/or handkerchiefs
Keys (but no electrical key fobs)

so the 18 arrests shouldnt have been made then


well that is a good idea einstein, I guess nobody else has thought of that

I'm very very very very jumpy, I apologise in advance for any harshness from me today.

Blair is behind the bombings? Blimey.

Personally I'm not bothered by the politics of it all - I'm just glad that nothing's been blown-up and nobody killed.

Police presence in London is very high indeed - lots of unmarked police cars with sirens and lights on screaming down Bishopsgate this morning at about 9am, but no noticeable increase in activity on the concourse of Liverpool Street.

EDIT: Oh, and either way, if planes aren't going out or if it's planes not coming in the effect is pretty much the same

Although the BBC says all LH flights cancelled to the UK, the 10.50 flight to Birmingham has boarded so I presume it's only London flights, so I think you may be ok. Best to try and check though

Thanks, BR! It's reassuring to know that mini-cinz won't have to starve on the flight or sit in her own poo.

Does anyone have any ideas for how to make such items double as toys, since those won't be allowed on the 9-hour flight?

I'm meant to flying from Stansted today but reckon it'll be cancelled as the knock on delays may mean my flight gets cancelled - twice in 2 weeks (one was act of 'God') - total bummer.

you could make a daisy chain out of tampons?
that could keep mini-cinz entertained for an hour or so...

and maybe do a quick crash course on oregami (sp?) so you can make snazzy animals and such out of paper tissues

I'll repeat for the 3rd time , the LH flights have only been cancelled to LONDON, acc. to BBC News.

BBC are streaming News 24 live on their website at the moment..

NP, my co-worker from Houston is due to fly back tomorrow and we're as nervous as cats already.

Easy to understand why, Katrina.

I assume you have to make the trip if the flight is not cancelled.

Well, anyway, think of yourself as a hero. If you don't fly to Birmingham, the terrorists will have won!

Don't be so naive. If they can condone torture, extrodinary rendentions, break Constitutional law, spy on Americans, detain people indefinitely with no charges, do away with habeus corpus, claim that they can't be investigated due to national security, the list goes on and on ... they can and have and will again throw a high security threat level monkey wrench into the works. Perhaps this is what Bush meant when he sent word to Joe Lieberman that he would help him out any way that he could.

Don't forget the raised threat level during the Democratic Convention that was based on year old evidence and had no timeframe.

It is sad to say, but these people are not to be trusted and that doesn't bode well for Democracy.

Neil - pls let us know if there are any contradictions to the news they're printing in word on their website, as I can't stream from work. Or if they give any more info other than what has been printed already. Much appreciated!

At the moment the BBC website is stating this:

German carrier Lufthansa, Spanish airline Iberia and Olympic have all cancelled flights to the UK.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4778871.stm (full story)

However, I think the infomation is incorrect as their are flights that have left for Birmingham.

cinzia, the air crew carry limited entertainment packs on board. Contact your ticketing agent and ask them to place a remark on your booking. But not today, eh?

Right have spoken to LH.
A press conference is about to be held where LH will give further details.
Birmingham is still open and my flight is at 15:20 (not 5).
No hand luggage, turn up extra early if flight actually departs.
LH advised me to call again before leaving for the airport.
Think might call my pal in LH network at LHR (I'm ex-LH myself).

According to the radio only 15 minutes ago, they are only canceled until 14:00. Depending on the logistics, that will most likely get delayed, but they are planning to restart them today.