If At Once You Don't Succeed, Fly, Fly Again

After being canceled for two days in a row, British Airways Flight 223 from Heathrow to Dulles took off Saturday, as security officials in both Britain and the US said they were satisfied it was safe to fly.

"The Department for Transport has confirmed to us that they are satisfied that it is safe for the aircraft to go," said an airline spokeswoman, on customary condition of anonymity. "Safety and security is our absolute priority and would not be compromised. We would not operate any flight unless we were satisfied it was safe to do so."

BA 223 has been targeted, if not by terrorists, at least by American and British security agencies. The flight was escorted by F-16s as it neared Washington on Wednesday. It was cancelled altogether Thursday and Friday.

While the Heathrow-Washington flight appeared to be on track for a scheduled arrival Saturday, three other BA flights were cancelled. One was destined from London to New York City. Another, Flight BA263, was supposed to travel from London to Riyadh's King Khalid Airport Saturday. The aircraft's return flight, BA262, was also cancelled. It was to have left Saudi Arabia on Sunday.

There's no indication yet whether BA's flights to Riyadh would resume on Monday.

The BA cancellations and delays are part of a much bigger security picture. Worried that terrorists would use foreign flights over the holidays to attack targets worldwide, the Bush administration negotiated a deal with EU members to share passenger lists for overseas flights. That, in turn, led to six cases of mistaken identity aboard Air France flights between Paris and Los Angeles. Those flights were either cancelled, delayed or, in one case, diverted to a landing in St. Johns, Newfoundland after officials discovered unaccompanied luggage aboard.

Two AeroMexico flights to LA were also grounded as security measures.

FMI: www.tsa.gov