New Zealand moves to approve air marshalls (AFP) Updated: 2005-12-10 09:57
The New Zealand government has launched moves to allow armed marshals on
aircraft to counter any perceived terrorist threat, according to a report.
A need for "in-flight security officers" has yet to arise in New Zealand but
the country has to be able to move fast to respond to any change in its security
status, Transport Safety Minister Harry Duynhoven told the New Zealand Herald.
His disclosure came after US air marshals shot dead a man who claimed to have
a bomb on an aircraft in Miami, but who was unarmed and suffering a mental
disorder.
The incident was a "pretty big wake-up call" about how security was managed,
Duynhoven said.
Duynhoven said an amendment to the Aviation Security Bill would also lift the
ban on overseas airlines carrying air marshals on flights to New Zealand.
It is understood New Zealand has turned down past applications for marshals
to fly here.
"Merely having legislation which is permissive doesn't actually mean we will
ever have air marshals," Duynhoven said.
"At the moment there is no signal I'm aware of that we have any need for any
additional security."
Armed US air marshals disguised as passengers are placed on thousands of
flights each week in an effort to prevent attacks on civilian planes.
After the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States the number of
marshals went from 33 to thousands. The exact number is classified.
In December 2003, the US government ordered foreign airlines to put armed
marshals on selected flights to further boost security on aircraft flying to,
from and over the US.
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