KLM: Guarded 'yes' to sky marshals
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KLM has a stong presence on trans-Atlantic routes through its partnership with Northwest Airlines.
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AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (Reuters) -- Dutch carrier KLM, Europe's fourth-largest airline, says it is willing to put air marshals on some of its flights under certain conditions.
KLM, which is awaiting regulatory clearance for its proposed takeover by Air France, said those included defining the responsibilities of the various parties if a marshal was deployed.
"If for instance an armed air marshal uses his gun and injures someone on board, who would have the responsibility for that?" KLM spokesman Frank Houben said.
The United States has ordered foreign airlines to put armed marshals on some flights to guard against possible attacks such as the September 11, 2001, hijacked airliner attacks on U.S. cities. KLM has a strong presence on trans-Atlantic routes thanks to its partnership with Northwest Airlines.
Some airlines, such as South African Airways, have said they would not be able to comply with the U.S. demand for now, while others said they would rather cancel flights that would require armed police on board.
Houben said KLM would discuss the issue in the next few weeks with the Dutch Transport and Justice Ministries, labor unions and smaller Dutch airline Martinair, which is 50 percent-owned by KLM and which also has U.S.-bound flights.
"We expect that in a few weeks we can have drawn up a protocol which outlines who will have what responsibility," he said.
KLM pilots, along with many others have been reluctant to accept armed marshals but said last week they might go along with the plan if certain conditions were met.
British Airways, Europe's top airline, has said it would accept armed police on flights if it was satisfied safety would be enhanced.
Air France, which expects to complete the $4.2 billion merger with KLM in early April, has posted guards on some of its flights since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon outside Washington.
The Volkskrant daily newspaper reported earlier that Dutch military police had already trained some of its members to serve as air marshals on KLM flights, but the carrier has been reluctant to start using them.
Copyright 2004
Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
