Tue, Mar 02, 2004
Ground Screening Is Country's Preference
Italy opposes using
armed guards on transatlantic flights, preferring tough
pre-boarding measures instead, the interior minister said in an
interview published on Saturday. "The best strategy for us is to
concentrate all of our energies on pre-boarding controls," Giuseppe
Pisanu told la Repubblica daily following US calls for the
introduction of so-called sky marshals on some flights. "A figure
like the sky marshal would require... extraordinary training and
capabilities. The number of specialists that could be prepared
would be reduced and wouldn't allow us to cover all the flights,"
he added.
The United States has tried to convince skeptical European Union
countries of the need for armed guards on selected flights, but the
requests have sparked criticism from some members worried about the
risk to passengers of guns on board. Last month, the European
Commission transport spokesman said most EU countries were
undecided or not in favor, with only France and Britain ready to
accept sky marshals in some cases.
Pisanu said on Saturday that measures like tougher controls were
already ensuring greater safety on Italian flights. He cited better
controls of personal identification papers, baggage, pre-boarding
security checks and the installation of barriers to the pilots'
cabins. "Naturally, if there were no other alternatives we also
would adopt the use of sky marshals, but we will continue to focus
on prevention," he added.
In December and January several Air France and British Airways
flights were cancelled after security alerts, decisions which
Pisanu said were "justified" given the information available.
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