JEDDAH, 15 May 2003 — British Airways (BA) said yesterday it had canceled stopovers for its aircrews in Saudi Arabia because British government travel advice had changed after the suicide blasts in Riyadh.
Europe’s biggest airline said it had stopped using hotels in Riyadh and Jeddah and instead lodge crew in Larnaca, Cyprus. This decision was taken after the British Foreign Office advised on Tuesday against non-essential travel to Saudi Arabia. Its cabin and flight crews will stay overnight in Larnaca as they did during the Iraq war.
“We stopped using hotels from yesterday’s early morning flight from Jeddah and night flight from Riyadh,” Chris Phipps, BA’s Jeddah-based commercial country manager for the Kingdom, told Arab News last night. “This is however a temporary measure.”
The Foreign Office advice said that Britons already in Saudi Arabia should take all necessary steps to protect their safety. All non-essential staff and dependents at British diplomatic missions in Saudi Arabia will be allowed to leave the country. The Foreign Office had issued revised travel advice on May 2 in view of specific intelligence that terrorists were in the final stages of preparing an attack in Saudi Arabia.
It warned of a high threat of further attacks endangering Britons and of the possibility of chemical and biological weapons being used.
The latest advice from London says that “there remains a high threat of further large or small scale attacks against Western interests in Saudi Arabia”. The travel advice points out that other bombings in the Kingdom since November 2000 have killed and injured Britons and other Westerners. A Briton was recently shot and killed at a traffic light in Riyadh.
Accepting that the war in Iraq has exacerbated the hostility of Arab militants, the advice warns Britons: “You should maintain a high level of vigilance, particularly in public places frequented by foreigners such as hotels, restaurants and shopping malls. “You should take sensible precautions for your personal and vehicle safety.”
The Foreign Office said earlier yesterday two British nationals were still unaccounted for after the Riyadh blasts and 15 Britons had been injured.
Solana Solidarity: European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana yesterday discussed international terrorism with Saudi leaders in Riyadh. He gave a message of solidarity and support against terrorism and expressed the desire of the EU to continue its work in the fight against terrorism, sources said. Solana arrived in Riyadh from Jordan and later flew to the Syrian capital Damascus as part of his regional tour.
Border Fortified: Kuwait has increased security along its border with Saudi Arabia after terrorist bombings killed 30 and injured about 200 in Riyadh, Al-Qabas newspaper reported yesterday.
Kuwaiti security sources told the paper that Kuwait was also exchanging information with Saudi police on suspected members of the Al-Qaeda terrorist network. Some of those suspects might be connected to the attacks in Riyadh, the sources said.
A number of people either with Al-Qaeda links or who are sympathetic to the network’s philosophies are on trial in Kuwait for various terrorist attacks.
