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Trial to Open in Alleged British Bomb Plot That Prompted Tighter Security at Airports
A girl holds a clear bag with family passports and boarding cards at Glasgow Airport after August 2006 raids of alleged bomb conspirators.
(By Jeff J. Mitchell -- Getty Images)
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In subsequent indictment papers, police said they confiscated a variety of evidence they said was intended for bombmaking, including empty sports-drink bottles, batteries, syringes, food coloring, an amp-volt reader, a pH reader, electronic scales, a digital thermometer, bulbs and wiring, hydrogen peroxide and citric acid.
At the time of the arrests, police said they rounded up suspects sooner than they had wanted because the unexpected arrest in Pakistan of a key suspect, Rashid Rauf, 25, might have exposed their investigation.
Pakistani police later dropped terrorism charges against Rauf, but British authorities sought his extradition in connection with the April 2002 murder of his uncle in Birmingham.
In December 2007, Rauf escaped from police custody in Islamabad. Three police officers were arrested and nine were fired following his escape. He is still missing.
News of the August 2006 raids in Britain brought air traffic in the United States and Europe to a virtual standstill for days and caused lasting economic impact.
According to the Association of European Airlines, on three U.K. carriers alone -- British Airways, Virgin and BMI -- more than 2,300 British flights were canceled in a week and more than 300,000 passengers missed flights. British Airways alone lost more than $200 million because of the disruption, company officials said.
Scotland Yard officials said the security scare cost more than $20 million in overtime and other police costs in the six weeks after the raids.
Air passengers in the United States and Europe are still allowed only small amounts of liquids or gels, which must be carried in see-through plastic bags. Authorities in other parts of the world also established new restrictions on those items.
Mark Mann, a spokesman for the British Airports Authority, which runs seven U.K. airports, said the plot has cost those airports at least $40 million to add security guards, new security-screening lanes and equipment.
Keith Spinks, secretary general of the European Travel Retail Council, said the initial security scare cost duty-free shops and other airport retailers about $475 million in the last quarter of 2006.
The costs to passengers, in time lost and goods confiscated, have also been significant. Airports are still confiscating massive volumes of items from passengers who forget or do not understand the rules, said Craig Bradbrook of the Airports Council International, a trade group that represents most of the world's airports. At the Zurich airport alone, he said, authorities confiscate about $35,000 worth of alcohol, perfume and cologne every day.
"Passengers have generally accepted the new security rules," said James Fremantle of the Air Transport Users Council, a British-based passenger advocacy group. "But we do wonder if passengers' patience will end at some point."
Special correspondents Karla Adam in London and Imtiaz Ali in Peshawar, Pakistan, contributed to this report.
