Armed marshals for UK passenger flights

Pilots joined British Airways last night in criticising plans announced yesterday to deploy armed "sky marshals" on passenger aircraft.

Alistair Darling, the Secretary of State for Transport, said the proposals were "a decisive step" towards tackling terrorism. But the prospect of shots being fired in mid-flight horrified industry experts. Captain Mervyn Granshaw, who chairs Balpa, the British airline pilots' association, said his members had "serious doubts about the wisdom of the government plans".

He added: "We have difficulties with the idea of having lethal weapons on board airliners. We believe the emphasis must be on preventing potential terrorists boarding." He wants greater use of screening technology to improve passenger profiling and better security training for crew and airline managers.

His fears were echoed by British Airways. "We are concerned about firearms on our aircraft," said a spokesman.