Air fares to rise after hijack attempt?

[corsair67]

From The Australian.


Air fares to rise after hijack attempt
By staff writers | February 25, 2008.


PASSENGERS passing through small airports in New Zealand are likely to pay more in fares after the attempted hijacking of a commuter plane.

After the incident aboard the 19-seater Eagle Airways flight from Blenheim to Christchurch in the South Island on February 8, Prime Minister Helen Clark said some tightening of security was inevitable.

The plane's two pilots and a passenger were injured by a knife-wielding passenger in the incident.

At present, passenger screening and X-rays of cabin baggage are carried out only on flights carrying 90 or more people.

A spokesman for Transport Minister Annette King said Cabinet would decide what measures to impose tomorrow, the New Zealand Press Association reported.

Security staff were likely to carry out random bag searches but cabin baggage would not be X-rayed, he said.

Passengers are likely to pay for any new measures, with Miss Clark previously saying any tightening of security was likely to be recouped on a user-pays basis.

Somali refugee Asha Ali Abdille, from Blenheim, has been charged with attempted hijacking, wounding, and injuring with intent to injure.

She allegedly pulled out a knife on the Air New Zealand flight and demanded to be taken to Australia.

The flight landed safely in Christchurch.

[Peter Lewis]

Yes of course, any Government action always results in increased costs.
After all, one event in 80 years of ATO demands an over-reaction.

[sleemanj]

corsair67 said:

Security staff were likely to carry out random bag searches but cabin baggage would not be X-rayed, he said.

Great, so there will be scores of people inconvenienced every day, while the probability is that the one terrorist will not happen to be randomly searched. I think perhaps Annette has not thought this brilliant plan all the way through.

[flyjoe180]

So the 'solution' possibly won't prevent another person who has flipped out from doing the same thing again. One wonders if the attempted hijacker of that flight would have still gone super nutty and attacked the crew physically rather than with a weapon. Maybe equipping crews with tasers would help. I like tasers...

[FlyNavy]

You can mesmerise the 'would be hijackers' with this: (or 'taze' it)

[Dave Homewood]

Did air fares rise after Air New Zealand's hijacking in the 1980's out of interest, or was the Govt not so jerking with the knees then?

[flyjoe180]

Pre 2001 so that would have been a pretty radical but one off event for a NZ airliner. No knee jerking back then, I guess noone could foresee that an airliner could be hijacked and turned into a flying missile. Hijackings before 2001 had mostly been for political coverage or protests against the west, with hostages being taken. Al Qaeda changed the way we think about security.

[Dave Homewood]

True.