MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Tighter controls in air travel

Tighter controls in air travel

International aviation officials from 187 agreed to invest more funds in strengthening security on planes and in airports, stressing passenger screening to prevent hijacks.

Members of the International Civil Aviation Organization, ICAO, recommended that cockpit access be locked during flights and that international standards be made extensive to domestic flights.

The United States and several other Latinamerican countries are already using armed, plain clothes guards who regularly travel on domestic flights.

The ICAO safety and security panels will be reviewing all current regulations in time for a special ministerial conference on aviation safety to be held before the end of the year in Montreal.

Country representatives said that September 11 events changed completely the rules for civil aviation, since for the first time airplanes were used as weapons of destruction.However ICAO president stressed that the key to safety were preventive measures in airports.

"It's much more important to prevent potential hijackers from boarding than having armed personnel and fighting in a plane", said Assad Kotaite, ICAO president.