EUROPE

Flights canceled, or turned around

By Charles M. Sennott, Globe Staff, 9/14/2001

ONDON - Portuguese and Italian airliners trying to fly to New York City were turned back yesterday after US aviation officials ordered all planes without American registration to return to their points of origin.

Tuesday's devastating terrorist attacks on New York and Washington continued to wreak havoc yesterday on global travel as the United States maintained a tight control over its airspace, opening some airports to a limited number of diverted flights.

European airports, which for years have used tighter controls than US airports because of past experience with terrorism, announced even more stringent measures this week including, in some cases, banning all carry-on luggage.

The British Broadcasting Corp. reported that passengers on a flight from London's Stansted Airport destined for Canada were banned from taking handbags on board and were given transparent plastic bags to help prevent the concealment of weapons.

The measure was a temporary one, officials said, and was meant to deal with the very tense atmosphere surrounding worldwide airport security in the wake of Tuesday's attack.

Thousands of anxious passengers trying to fly to the United States remained stranded in European airports where hotels are largely overbooked as a result of the air restrictions.

The TAP-Air Portugal flight from Lisbon and the Alitalia flight from Rome, both headed for New York City, had taken off on the understanding that the United States had reopened its airspace.

But US officials did not mention the restrictions on inbound foreign flights when they made their initial reopening announcement. Nor did they say how long the restrictions would last on international flights by non-American carriers, but aviation authorities across Europe said they believed some flights would be permitted as soon as today.

US airports were permitted to reopen yesterday morning, but only on a ''case-by-case'' basis. Airports in the United States and worldwide, FAA officials announced, must meet a range of new security requirements before flights may enter the United States.

British Airways officials, and other officials from airlines across Europe, said they were waiting to be instructed on these new security measures, which are being imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration as well as individual American airports.

Dutch airline KLM criticized US aviation authorities yesterday after it was forced to cancel two flights, to Memphis and Minneapolis.

''We are very, very, very disappointed in the attitude of the US government after it closed the airspace after saying it was now open,'' said KLM spokesman Hugo Baas.

KLM's cancellations left 681 exhausted passengers stranded at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport.

International airlines were allowed to leave the United States, however.

''A foreign airline can leave the United States for a foreign destination,'' said FAA spokeswoman Alison Duquette.

US Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta said he had asked the military for members of its counterterrorist Delta Force to help federal air marshals who would ride on some flights.

Despite the frustration and confusion, some passengers were willing to endure the extra security steps for safety's sake.

''I don't want a crazy man on the plane,'' said Eileen O'Reilly, who was waiting to fly from Amsterdam to Memphis with her 64-year-old mother after a holiday in Europe. ''I don't care if they search everything. We just want to get there safe.''

Material from Reuters was used in this report.

This story ran on page A36 of the Boston Globe on 9/14/2001.
© Copyright 2001 Globe Newspaper Company.