Cullen tells UK of flight threats concern

Minister for Transport Martin Cullen has written to the secretary of state for transport in the UK to raise concerns about the…

Minister for Transport Martin Cullen has written to the secretary of state for transport in the UK to raise concerns about the handling by the British authorities of bomb threats on board two Irish aircraft last month.

In the letter, Mr Cullen said there was "understandable disquiet" among Irish airlines about the decision to have the two aircraft fly to Prestwick airport in Scotland, when there were airports closer by.

There was also concern about the delay in allowing passengers to disembark from both aircraft once they had landed, Mr Cullen said.

He also sought information from the British authorities on the "lessons learned" from the two events.

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A major security incident was sparked in British airspace on April 18th when passengers on a Ryanair flight en route from Beauvais near Paris to Dublin discovered a note hidden in magazines and handed it to staff.

The note claimed there was a bomb on board.

After contacting British authorities, the aircraft was directed to land at Prestwick airport, accompanied by three RAF Tornado fighter jets.

When it landed, passengers were held on the plane for 30 minutes before being allowed to disembark.

A few days later a similar incident occurred on an Aer Arann aircraft en route from Luton to Galway.

In his letter two weeks ago to Alastair Darling, then secretary of state for transport, Mr Cullen said his department had received reports from Ryanair and Aer Arann.

"I know that Ryanair has been in touch with your department separately about the handling of the incident involving their aircraft and I understand that the police investigation into both incidents is ongoing."

He added: "Unfortunately, incidents such as this are likely to occur again in the future and accordingly airlines need to be aware of the nature of the contingency planning arrangements which the UK authorities may implement in response to a bomb threat to an aircraft in flight."

Offering assistance to the British authorities in relation to any issues arising out of the two incidents, he said he believed it would be "very useful in terms of our contingency planning if your department could share any lessons learned from the experience of handling the above incidents".