Britain to suspend direct flights between UK and Yemen following failed Detroit attack
By APWednesday, January 20, 2010
Britain suspends direct flights to Yemen
LONDON — Britain’s government is suspending direct flights between the U.K. and Yemen over security concerns following the failed Detroit airliner attack.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown in a statement to lawmakers Wednesday confirmed the decision to halt services between London and Sana’a, the Yemeni capital.
Foreign Office minister Ivan Lewis said Tuesday flights will only be resumed once the Yemeni government enhances airport security.
Lewis says suspending direct flights was key to Britain’s duty to protect the “security of its citizens.”
Former London student Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian with links to Yemen, is accused of attempting to blow up a Northwest Airlines flight on Christmas Day as it was preparing to land in Detroit.
