Safety issues should be dealt with before passengers board, says Security Bureau
Hong Kong has offered the firmest indication yet that it opposes the introduction of armed sky marshals on international flights, saying any safety threat should be dealt with before passengers board.
The stand comes amid talks in the United States between senior airline officials and transport experts, where fears are being voiced that allowing undercover agents to carry firearms on board aircraft will only add to security risks.
Cathay Pacific's head of security, Peter Wang, and other regional airline security officials are in Washington today to debate the proposed security measures at an International Air Transport Association meeting.
US Federal Aviation Administration chief Marion Blakey is today due to start a whirlwind visit to Hong Kong, the mainland, Japan and Singapore to 'promote co-operation in aviation-related issues', an FAA spokesman said. But it is understood the key to her agenda is lobbying Asian financial centres to agree to the improved security measures.
Her mission follows bitter division among the European Commission, with some European Union member states still against the US plans to place armed marshals on certain flights.
Others are more open to the plans. Britain and France have doubts but say they are prepared to use air marshals. The rest - among them Belgium, the Netherlands and Hungary - say they recognise the need for air marshals under certain circumstances.