'Air travel costs may shoot up with terrorism fears'

'Air travel costs may shoot up with terrorism fears'

P. Parameswaran, Agence France-Presse, Cebu, Philippines

Chief executives of Asia-Pacific airlines warned at annual
talks here Friday that air travel may become more expensive if
governments do not bear the cost of implementing aviation
security measures to counter terrorist threats.

They said governments should shoulder the costs as security
was a state responsibility.

Airlines and passengers were already paying excessive travel
taxes and could not be burdened with additional costs, said the
airline chiefs meeting for the first time after the deadly
bombing in Bali on Oct. 12.

Shim Yi-Taek, president of Korean Air, said the terrorism
threat had increased the risk of travel with insurance costs
rocketing after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the
United States.

"There are insurance products but at very high costs and some
of the costs have already been transferred to passengers but we
cannot do it continuously," he said.

Citing the U.S. which had slapped an additional premium of up
to US$25 per air traveler following the Sept. 11 tragedy, Shim
said Asian airlines might be forced to charge up to five dollars
more for each passenger if the carriers remain saddled with
security costs.

He said immediately after Sept. 11 governments had provided
financial guarantees to back up airlines reeling from soaring
insurance costs but this had been discontinued.

"Security is actually everybody's responsibility, not just
airlines and I think states should look at this very closely,"
said Philip Chen, chief operating officer of Hong Kong-based
Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd.

"We think the governments should be responsible for security,"
said Richard Stirland, the director-general of the Association of
Asia-Pacific Airlines (AAPA), an umbrella group of 17
international airlines in the region.

The chief executives of the AAPA airlines meeting at the
central Philippine island of Cebu will adopt a resolution Friday
emphasizing the need for governments to bear the cost of a string
of new measures being implemented to prevent terrorist attacks.

Stirland said airlines had to fit reinforced doors to secure
the cockpit, establish video surveillance of the cabin, liaise
with airports on security immediately prior to departure and also
cooperate with governments in providing additional information of
their passengers.

The Asia-Pacific airline chiefs are also expected to
unanimously reject a U.S. proposal to arm pilots and other crew
members as an additional safeguard against terrorist hijackings.

"We firmly oppose such measures because a pilot's duty is to
fly an aircraft safely and it is not his duty to be engaged in
armed combat," Andrew Drysdale, the Asia-Pacific director of the
International Air Transport Association, who also attended the
talks, told AFP.

Hiroshi Tanaka, deputy vice-president of Japan Airlines, said
new aviation security measures should be standardized to reduce
the costs borne by airlines and passengers.

"The cost to airlines and passengers should be as low as
possible but the basic cost of security should be borne by the
government," he said.

AAPA's Stirland said increasing security costs might also take
a toll on profits of Asian carriers slowly ejecting from
turbulence after the Sept. 11 disaster.

The AAPA members are Air New Zealand, All Nippon Airways,
Asiana Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways, China Airlines,
Dragonair, EVA Air, Garuda Indonesia, Japan Airlines, Korean Air,
Malaysia Airlines, Philippines Airlines, Qantas Airways, Royal
Brunei Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways International
and Vietnam Airlines.