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Associated Press- Terror Plot Sparks Heightened Security at U.S. Airports
Friday August 11, 2006From Associated Press:
Terror Plot Sparks Heightened Security at
By DAVID B. CARUSO
The Associated Press
The airlines targeted included United Airlines, American Airlines and Continental Airlines Inc., two counterterrorism officials said Thursday, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.
"This is very, very serious, this is the real deal," said Rep. Peter King, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee.
King said he was briefed on the case late Wednesday by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, and "it was the most concerned I have ever heard him."
American canceled three London-bound morning flights from
The remaining 13 flights in each direction were expected to run from 1 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours late. The cancellations were due to scheduling delays and not because of possible threats to the flights, Hotard said.
"We're going to be flying out of Heathrow today," he said. "It's just that because it's so congested right now."
Most European carriers canceled flights to Heathrow because of the massive delays created by strict new regulations banning most hand baggage.
The
It is the first time the red alert level in the Homeland Security warning system has been invoked, although there have been brief periods in the past when the orange level was applied. Homeland Security defines the red alert as designating a "severe risk of terrorist attacks."
The government said it was banning liquids including beverages, hair gels and lotions from flights, explaining only that liquids emerged as a risk from the investigation in
Passengers complied at the Kennedy airport terminal housing British Airways, throwing those and other products into bins.
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Passengers dumped liquids into large trash cans that were being emptied every couple minutes. People threw away water bottles, juice boxes, makeup and even a bottle of tequila.
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Passengers appeared to be moving smoothly through checkpoints, he said.
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Some passengers were surprised by the ban on flying with liquids at
The terror plot and flight cancellations have "not yet" caused any disruption at
She declined to comment on whether airport officials have heightened security because of the raised threat alert, but said the airport typically followed any special directives from federal authorities.
Delta Air Lines spokesman Anthony Black said Thursday morning that operations would continue normally and there would be no flight cancellations. But Delta was expecting delays on flights coming from the
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