Britain suspends direct flights from Yemen: PM

LONDON, Jan 20, 2010 (AFP) - Britain has ordered the suspension of direct flights from Yemen until further security measures are agreed, following the Detroit bombing scare, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Wednesday.

"We have agreed with Yemenia airlines -- pending enhanced security -- that they suspend their direct flights to the UK from Yemen with immediate effect," he said in a statement on counter-terrorism to the House of Commons.


But he added: "We are working closely with the Yemeni government to agree what security measures need to be put in place before flights are resumed. Aviation security officials are in Sanaa at present looking at this.

"I hope that flights can be resumed soon -- but the security of our citizens must be our priority."

Yemen is under intense US and Western pressure to clamp down on Al-Qaeda, which claimed responsibility for the December 25 bid to blow up a flight from Amsterdam as it landed in Detroit.

Yemen's government says it is winning the battle against the jihadists, pointing to two air strikes in December which it said killed in all more than 60 suspected Al-Qaeda members.

The Nigerian who allegedly attempted to blow up the Detroit flight, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, had studied in Britain at University College London.

In other new counter-terrorism measures, the British premier announced the extension of watch-lists to include a no-fly list for the first time.

Abdulmutallab was on a British watch-list and Britain's Home Office said it shared information on him with US authorities. But he was not on a US no-fly list, allowing him to board the Christmas Day flight.


by Dan De Luce
(c) 2010 AFP