Man what's it coming to. Apparently there are real and specific threats of a rocket attack.

I'm gutted. :(

EDIT: Apparently they considered shutting down the airport,
The PM said "this is too serious to play around with".

[ 02-11-2003, 05:06 PM: Message edited by: Charlie ]

Oh no! :( Where did you hear this Charlie? I hope everything will turn out well!
Be safe my friend.

Mesuline, its been all over Brit news. :(

My friend's coming back from Singapore in three days...hope he's ok... :(

Horatio, I know about the tanks. I check BBC news regularly... I just hadn't heard talk about shutting down the airport. That must mean the threat is very tangible...

Edit: I flew from Glasgow a couple of days ago. I don't know if there's a connection but the security sure had tightened. My bags were searched in and out (my main luggage on the way there, my purse and cabin luggage on the way back). I've flown the same route several times last year, but the security was never as strict as it was now. They checked passports more seriously too, no quick glance-overs.

[ 02-11-2003, 05:30 PM: Message edited by: Melusine ]

Goodness Charlie

Dont tell me there has been another robbery. How much this time 1/2 a billion in bullion :D

but sadly I have to confirm that security at airports has Genuinely been increased not just at the public face of things, but behind the scenes where it has previously been a joke. In Australia as we type they are bringing in eye detectors for pilots and cabin crew. I have no doubt that within the next year or two it will be for engineers like me too. Even the milk and bread trucks for our staff canteens are given an escort on and off the base. Every 2 years we submit to a scan of our background with the fedral police and interpol.

Stuff!

In Paris, from time to time, we can see some soldiers patrolling in the subway and in railway stations.
But...tanks...must be impressive and, I admit, a bit scary...

*shiver*

IIRC the IRA (remember them) used a morter to bomb heathrow and downing street back in the early 90's. I guess it was probably a similar threat.

It's far more serious. It's believed that they want to bring down a jet using a missile. A similar attack took place in Mombasa a few months ago. Police and army are stationed at villages along the flightpath west of Heathrow. All commercial vehicles are being searched, layby's are being closed and car parks emptied. The Government claim that the threat is on a par with the Sept 11th attack.

Hello. Please excuse me...simple American here. I guess I need a qualification on something please. I realize that I don't understand all of the security measures and armaments at Heathrow, nor was I meant to. I guess I'm just trying to understand what protection a tank would be to stop a rocket/mortar attack.

Maybe I'm missing something, but I'd think a Chieftain's gun turret would be a Tad Too Slow to catch an incoming round/missile even if the the gunner was Amazingly Acurate and fast on the trigger. Now if they parked anti-missile batteries, I guess I could see it. Or am I missing something here? I'd hate to think someone's taking complex problems and applying PS2 solutions towards them.

I imagine they are there to interrupt anyone stupid enough to run out with a shoulder-launched missle and sight in on an airplane, not to do anti-missle work. Besides, if a Chieftain was parked withing 10 feet of where you were, wouldn't you be a tad intimidated? These guys are box-cutter fighters.

well noted for me! [img]smile.gif[/img] but personally, with all that security now, the terrorist wouldnt dare attack it anymore.. sigh..

Yes, Quietman, but it might stop a suicide bomber in a car or something, who knows? It's also quite probable that the British governement isn't divulging ALL it knows about the threat just now, as it would be foolish to give away your intelligence capability to the 'enemy'.

This is scary, Charlie! And with the US on Orange Alert, I'm inclined to believe it's a serious threat situation.

[ 02-12-2003, 10:26 AM: Message edited by: Cloudbringer ]

I wouldn't say the terrorists wouldn't dare with all the new security - just that they wouldn't bother. I slightly despair of a governmnet which hears of a threat to Heathrow and increases security, while aparently ignoring Gatwick airport which is less than 20 miles away...
Surely any terrorist worth his virgins will have noticed this.

<font color="#ffccff">Umm forgive my ignorance...but what good are tanks against rocket attacks? Or even suicide bombers with explosives strapped to themselves? I would think they would increase the troops, not send in the tanks...Im confused.

Edit: Ooops I see my question was hardly original....ahh well.</font>

[ 02-12-2003, 10:32 AM: Message edited by: MagiK ]

As someone has already pointed out, we don't know how specific these threats were. One of the things that separates Heathrow from Gatwick is that EL AL don't fly from gatwick.

It's becoming a scary world out there! I hope all the added security both in London and here in the US really does deter the terrorists, but I doubt it will, if that was all it took, then Israel wouldn't still be getting attacked.
I'll keep my fingers crossed that nothing happens. It's sad to think that if my trip to Paris was for now instead of 2 years ago, I probably wouldn't go out of fear and would have missed all the wonders and the great people of that city.

My bro flew in this morning and says he couldn't see any tanks, just a few police! :D

Tank guy drinking coffee... noticing some native guy walking towards a big boeing 747 full with passengers (like 342 of them)... ''eeuuhh Commander there is a strange native guy walking towards a really big plane filled with citizens... what should ''KABOEM!!!!!!!!''.. hmmmm never mind he just blowed up a boeing 747 with approximently 300 people in it''

Even if there is tank/a hole freaking army monitoring the airplanes/landing strips... a terrorist needs only seconds to blow himself and 300 other people up.

A terrorist does NOT have a sign on his shirt saying ''I'm a afghan terrorist and am probaly going to blow up that real big plane over there... so if you want to stop me do it now because I'm packed with 50 kilograms of high explosives that has a blast redious of about a small nuclaire bomb''

A tank officer first needs clearance before he shoots a possible terrorist down... he cannot go on a killing spree like '' hey! look at that guy! BLOW HIM APART he's looking at that plane! ''KAboem!'' ''Splash''

my point is here... if they want to make a attack THEY CAN!... it's only matter of time before they hit...

not to scare you guys really.. but it is just the world in these days. Hard and bitter trued (sp?)

[ 02-12-2003, 04:41 PM: Message edited by: Annatar ]

Oh, thank you! :D [img]tongue.gif[/img]

They probably have more protection than you can see on the surface...

I am sorry to hear all this. It's so strange to us here in the USA. We really had no serious security at airports here until after 9/11. That's of course because we are a free and open nation. Many of us here had never seen police carring automatic weapons except on TV or in the movies. Many citizens in the USA have never even held a gun. Please don't get me wrong, I am not implying that the UK, France or any other European Nation is less free and open than we are. But, we never really had serious tangible threats here on our soil. Until the first attack on the WTC.

It may only just now be sinking in, that this level of security should have always been in place. It's a sad testament to religion that so many young minds can be twisted into this kind of hate. Hatred so intense they would commit suicide to hurt us. As the line in "The Two Towers" goes (hopefully correctly quoted)...

"How can a man fight such reckless hate?"

It is so very hard to understand that kind of rage. What drives an man to do things like this? How could they square it within thier own mind? How can they justify this kind of action?

Tom Clancy has read the Bible, Koran and the Tora. His opinion was that they say basically the same thing. There are passages in the Koran that specifically forbids the killing of non-combatants, women and children. So how can any Muslim consider the killing of the innocent a holy act? I quess I just don't understand. If any of you ever figure this out, let me know will you?

Two men have been arrested 'as a precaution' near Heathrow's perimeter fence and part of Gatwick airport has been evacuated for security reasons.

<font color=orange>Here is a link about the two airports in London. Rumor has it a grenade was found in some luggage. The London police aren't commenting.
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.j...toryID=2224269
</font>