By Constant Brand, The Associated Press
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) -- Despite disagreements over the merits of placing armed sky marshals on airplanes, the United States told European nations Friday it wants bilateral deals providing for such guards on trans-Atlantic flights.
Asa Hutchinson, U.S. undersecretary for border and transportation security, told European civil aviation officials armed guards on planes are needed to thwart terrorist attacks.
He defended their use in the United States and said more must be done worldwide to thwart terrorist attacks.
“Ultimately it is the safety of the passengers that is pre-eminent,” Hutchinson told a press conference.
“If there is a flight that comes into the airspace of the United States, we will ultimately make a decision whether that can be done safely without air marshals.”
Hutchinson said Washington would “with urgency” pursue “bilateral security protocols” with European countries to beef up security on trans-Atlantic flights.
These would spell out when and how air marshals are to be used and also mandate added passenger screening and other stiffer security measures.
The United States also seeks such accords with Canada, Mexico and countries in South America, Asia and in the Middle East.
Hutchinson said several European nations, which he didn’t name, were planning for air marshal programs, adding Washington was ready to help them in that.
Although Britain and France were open to the idea, other European nations had reservations. No decisions were made on the matter Friday.
“Use of weapons on board an aircraft is always potentially dangerous because there are some very sensitive electronics on board every aircraft,” said Lars Lovkvist, Finnish Air Transport Authority Director.
“If there really is a grave serious threat, we would cancel individual flights and not use sky marshals.”
Portugal, Sweden and Denmark also signaled they prefer canceling flights to deploying armed guards on planes if there were a strong suspicion of an attack.
Hutchinson said he understood safety concerns about having live ammunition on board planes. However, he said the heightened threat of new terrorist attacks overshadowed those concerns.
“We need to develop international standards to ensure we have the right response to the threats.”
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced Dec. 29 that airlines would be required to place armed law enforcement officers on flights to the United States “where necessary.”
The announcement came after U.S. authorities raised their terrorism alert to the second-highest level and increased security surrounding international flights.
More than a dozen flights to the United States on British Airways, Aeromexico and Air France have been canceled or delayed since New Year’s Eve due to security fears.
Separately on Friday, the European Union drafted a wider list of articles that passengers boarding in any of the 15 EU nations will be banned from taking onto planes.
The list contains several dozen objects ranging from guns, explosives and machetes to ice skates, baseball bats, fishing rods and paint thinner.
Most have already been banned individually by EU nations. The EU executive Commission said a standardized list for the whole bloc would improve safety and provide clarity for passengers.