US says 'sky marshals' could be on flights from NZ

11.45am - By IAN STUART

A suggestion by US aviation authorities that "sky marshals" be on Air New Zealand flights to America to foil terrorist attacks has been labelled as "a bit naughty" by New Zealand aviation authorities.

"The Transport Security Administration (the American aviation security authority) do not run New Zealand's aviation," Civil Aviation Authority aviation security manager Trevor Joy said today.

Air New Zealand confirmed yesterday it will implement new security measures on some international flights into the United States.

It refused to say what they were but said passengers on flights to America may notice a difference in pre-flight boarding checks but would notice no difference in in-flight service.

Security measures for international flights include reinforced cockpit doors, wide-ranging pre-flight security checks and the provision of passenger information to American authorities.

However, the American Department of Homeland Security said today there was potential for US federal air marshals to be on some flights originating in New Zealand.

"There could potentially be federal marshals on flights from other countries including New Zealand. We don't discuss the specifics on any deployment of federal air marshals," Brian Roehrkasse from the Department of Homeland Security in Washington said.

He directed the question of whether federal air marshals on international flights into America were armed to civil aviation authorities in New Zealand.

However, Mr Joy said it was "not government policy for New Zealand registered air carriers to carry sky marshals or armed security guards".

Asked if unarmed federal marshals would be carried, Mr Joy said: "We don't carry unarmed ones either but depending on what happens over the next few weeks or months...nobody can discount any option but certainly there is no intention to do so."

Mr Joy said he believed Mr Roehrkasse was unaware that no American carriers operated out of New Zealand when he said there was potential for sky marshals to be on flights from New Zealand.

"Armed security personnel are of great advantage if your ground security measures are inadequate. We go to a hell of a lot of effort here to make sure that our ground security measures are excellent.

"We are not operating an outfit the size of the United States so we have a lot more control on what is happening on aircraft out of New Zealand."

"Armed sky marshals is not favoured. It is not an international requirement. It is not a favoured method except by certain countries to protect aircraft."

However, Mr Joy said nothing could be discounted.

"If the nature of the threat gets to the stage were we have sky marshals we would be looking at whether the aeroplane should be flying at all," Mr Joy said.

Mr Roehrkasse said all international carriers had co-operated with increased security requirements since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.

Last week the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Tom Ridge told Boeing employees thousands of federal air marshals flew on tens of thousands of flights and some pilots were armed and trained to defend flight decks.

The United States Department of Homeland Security yesterday warned the airline industry that Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network is planning new suicide hijackings and bombings in the US or abroad.

It said the danger ran until at least the end of the northern summer.

"At least one of these attacks could be executed by the end of the summer 2003," the department said in an advisory.


Armed security on flights from NZ 'rare event'

During the late 1960s armed security guards were on a flight out of New Zealand when French nuclear testing on Mururoa Atoll raised security fears.

Existing security measures for international flights out of New Zealand to the United States include:

* reinforced doors into the flight deck;

* stringent pre-boarding security checks;

* sending passenger information to American authorities to identify high risk passengers travelling to and from America; and

* explosive detection equipment at some airports.

In some American airports travellers are not allowed to touch their baggage after it has been checked by explosive detection equipment.

The equipment is understood to be capable of detecting very small levels of explosives, including the smell of explosives left on the hands of someone who may have handled it.

In Los Angeles once the baggage has been checked, airport security staff put it through the weigh machine at the check in counter and travellers are warned to keep their hands off it.

Civil Aviation Authority aviation security manager Trevor Joy said explosive detection equipment was developing very rapidly.

"There are various systems in place in New Zealand now and there are others being researched."

He said New Zealand would adhere to the mandatory international baggage check requirements well before the 2006 deadline.

America has 429 commercial airports and since security measures were increased, more than six million items have been confiscated, including 1200 guns, 45,000 box cutters (similar to those used on the September 11 terrorist flights) and nearly two million knives.

- NZPA