UK suspends all flights from Yemen

Friday, 22nd January 2010

UK is suspending all flights to and from Yemen as part of the country’s new security measures. The move has been implemented after the failed bombing of Delta’s aircraft by a Nigerian man on Christmas Day.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown told the UK parliament earlier that the country would establish a new no-fly database in response to al-Qaeda’s threat. He informed that a number of terrorists are trying to target the UK and other countries.

The UK government will also install full body scanners at Heathrow Airport for added security. However, critics argued that the devices could violate the UK’s child protection law.

Brown revealed that Yemenia Airlines had agreed to temporarily halt direct flights to the country. An airline representative told Reuters that the UK government requires Yemenia to have a short stop first in another country for security inspection before it will be permitted to precede flying to the UK. The Yemenia official further said that no other airport has suspended flights to Yemen, except for the UK.

The decision to increase security at UK airports comes after a Nigerian national, suspected to have connections with extremists from Yemen, tried to blow up a US plane using concealed explosives.

Currently, Yemen faces increased pressure from Europe and the US to crack down the al-Qaeda group which claimed responsibility over the Christmas Day incident. The Yemeni government informed that it had won a recent battle against al-Qaeda fighters, pointing to two air strikes last month which the government said had killed over 60 suspected members.

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