Special Report:
Major UK air terror plot
thwarted
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Travellers queue at Gatwick
international airport on the outskirts of London, following the
introduction of heightened security measures August 10,
2006.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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BEIJING,
Aug. 11 (Xinhuanet) -- Britain's flights were returning to normal Friday, though
a number of long-haul flights were canceled or delayed after a foiled bomb plot
sparked a security alert and stranded thousands of passengers on Thursday.
Airport operator, the British
Airports Authority (BAA), said a ban on short-haul flights coming into Heathrow
had been lifted and the airport was "busy but calm".
British Airways (BA), Europe's third-largest airline,
said about 70 percent of its short-haul services from Heathrow were expected to
operate on Friday, a day after cancelling all short-haul flights to and from the
airport.
The airline said most long-haul flights from Heathrow
were operating as normal, except for six services to the United States, but
warned of delays at Heathrow and Gatwick airports.
Meanwhile, low-cost carriers EasyJet Plc and Ryanair
Holdings Plc canceled flights because of delays tied to new security checks.
British EasyJet said it had cancelled about 80
flights on Friday compared with 300 a day earlier and said operations were
returning to normal.
Dublin-based Ryanair listed about 30 cancellations
from Stansted Airport on its Web site. The airline cancelled 120 flights on
Thursday.
Tighter security restrictions led European airlines
to cancel more than 1,100 flights yesterday. About 400,000 passengers
experienced disruptions across the region, with the most delays at London
Heathrow Airport, after U.K. police said they broke up a terror plot to bomb
flights bound for the U.S.
Britain yesterday banned hand baggage including bags,
cell phones, laptops and media players on flights departing from British
airports. The U.S. stopped passengers from carrying any liquid, lotions or gels
on all flights, domestic and international. Enditem
(Agencies)
