Morocco’s state airline Royal Air Maroc has banned its staff praying at their offices and headquarters.

The company says that in the past its workers have abused the privilege of praying, by taking too much time away from their desks and their customers.

But the airline’s workers as well as Islamist politicians say it is part of a crackdown on their religious freedom.

Praying is one of the five pillars of Islam and regarded as a crucial part of a Muslim’s way of life.

The state airline, partly owned by the Moroccan royal family, is a great source of pride and prestige in the country.

But this latest move threatens to exacerbate divisions in Morocco.

Workers say that they have been banned from praying at work and that a number of prayer rooms have been closed and that they are forbidden from going to the mosque during work hours.

The company would not give an interview but issued a statement saying that while there is no official ban on praying, they had to do something to stop people taking lengthy breaks away from work.

But critics say the issue of praying, like the veil, is part of a more sinister move to rob the country of its Islamic roots.

Political

“I feel very angry about this decision,” says Moustapha Aramid from the Islamic Party for Justice and Development.

“Moroccans have had their liberty and their religious freedom taken away from them. It is very damaging. Royal Air Morocco obviously has absolutely no respect for Islam.”

Analysts say the ban on prayers is really a political move aimed at stamping out radical Islamism.

When an alleged terrorist cell – Ansar el-Mehdi – was broken up earlier this year – two of the suspects charged were the wives of two Royal Air Morocco pilots.

There is a feeling that the company had to do something to respond.

Other complaints from airline staff are that pilots and stewards were not allowed to fast during the month of Ramadan and that female staff are not allowed to wear the veil – although that has been an unwritten rule at many companies for several years.

These issues are becoming a focal point for some very hard questions being asked of this moderate Arabic country – something that is causing serious friction between liberals and traditionalists.

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Strict new security measures on hand baggage came into effect across European airports Monday.  The new rules limit the amount of liquids people may take on board planes.

Throughout the 25-nation European Union and Norway, Iceland and Switzerland, air travelers must comply with new security measures at airports.

The new compulsory rules are aimed at standardizing measures in Europe put in place after London authorities said in August they had foiled a plot to bomb flights bound for the United States.

Large posters at airports explain the new rules to passengers. Air travelers must now pack water, perfumes, toothpastes and other liquids into small plastic bags before going through airport security checkpoints.

Passengers are allowed to carry on one re-sealable transparent plastic bag that is a maximum size of 1 liter. Liquids carried on the plane in the plastic bag must be placed in separate 100 ml (3.5 fl oz) containers.

At Rome’s Fiumicino Airport, airport authorities warned passengers to turn up for their flights well ahead of time, as long lines formed. Many passengers were still unclear about the new rules.

Vitaliano Turra’, director of Italy’s civil aviation authority, says many still carried containers with shaving cream and creams whose size exceeded the limits allowed.  The new rules do not affect liquids packed in checked luggage or drinks and perfumes bought at airport shops after passengers cleared security.

Passengers are still allowed to carry medicines and “dietary requirements,” such as baby foods, in their hand luggage but may be asked to prove that the items are needed.

At security checkpoints, passengers must remove jackets and coats and take their laptop computers and other large electrical devices out of their hand luggage, to be screened separately.

New restrictions on the size of carry-on luggage will be introduced in April.

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Keeping the skies safe for airline passengers and flight crews was a top priority at a training session in Delaware County.

Veteran flight attendants and pilots were taught the moves designed to put down a threat on a commercial airliner and possibly save lives.

Former Pennsylvania State Trooper Glenn Daly schooled the airline employees in advanced self defense moves, threat recognition and how to subdue an on-board attacker.

The post 9/11 training is set up by the Transportation Security Administration and the Air Marshals program.

It’s being offered to more than 200,000 airline employees across the country like flight attendant Carol Pond.

“I wanna feel comfortable on the aircraft that I’m able to stop something if it were to start happening,” said Pond.

Eight-hour self defense classes are offered in eleven cities across the country.

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SEPANG, Nov 4 (Bernama) — Emirates Airline may provide additional flights into the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) during the Visit Malaysia Year 2007, said its general manager, Alban Lee.

Speaking to Bernama in a recent interview here, he said: “We feel great to contribute to KLIA to make it a more important aviation hub for Malaysia.

“For the Malaysia Visit Year, we will continue to contribute by increasing flight frequency which are commercially viable.”

He pointed out that during the summer months, Emirates’ flight were usually full with Middle Eastern holidaymakers visiting Malaysia.

Lee disclosed that for the past three years, Emirates have increased at least three additional flights during the summer months. Emirates currently offers nine flights weekly to KLIA.

Emirates, the Dubai-based international airlines, is wholly-owned by the government of Dubai.

It has a fleet of 92 aircraft (as on April 26, 2006) and fly to 80 destinations worldwide.

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SAO PAULO, Brazil: A Brazilian airline pilot inadvertently issued a hijacking distress signal during a flight in Brazil on Saturday, putting authorities throughout the country on alert, though no other flights were affected.

The pilot of Varig airlines Flight 2330 immediately advised air traffic controllers the plane had not been hijacked and that the signal was a misunderstanding, but civil aviation authorities stayed on alert until the aircraft landed in the city of Salvador, 1,450 kilometers (900 miles) northeast of Sao Paulo, a Brazilian air force spokesman said.

It wasn’t immediately clear how many passengers were aboard the plane, which had departed from Sao Paulo, according to the spokesman, who said he could not be identified because of internal policy.

It also wasn’t clear what prompted the distress signal. Authorities said they would investigate.

The plane was taken to a secure area as soon as it landed because authorities initially feared the pilot might have been forced to tell controllers the distress signal was a mistake.

Flights across the country have been severely delayed this week because air traffic controllers — complaining they are understaffed, overworked and underpaid — engaged in a so-called “work-to-rule” campaign, following regulations to the letter and slowing operations.

Controllers also said they had to take extra precautions following a collision in September that killed 154 people in Brazil’s most deadly air crash.

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By Dan Eggen

The Washington Post

WASHINGTON — A group of alleged terrorists arrested in London in August planned to blow up airliners over U.S. cities to maximize casualties, rather than over the Atlantic Ocean as many intelligence officials originally thought, according to recent remarks by a senior FBI official.

The comments by Mark Mershon, head of the FBI’s New York field office, indicate U.S. and British intelligence officials now think the airliner plot was aimed at maximizing the potential loss of life and economic impact.

“The plan was bring them down over U.S. cities, not over the ocean,” Mershon said Oct. 24 at the Infosecurity 2006 conference in New York, according to Government Security News (GSN), which first reported the remarks in a newsletter this week.

Authorities had previously said it was unclear where the alleged terrorists intended to detonate liquid explosives, which they planned to smuggle onto as many as 10 trans-Atlantic flights. Michael Jackson, deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said shortly after the plot was thwarted that while the conspirators appeared to be targeting nonstop flights to the United States, “the real focus was to blow up airliners and the people on them.”

British police arrested 25 people in raids across Britain after uncovering the alleged plot. Eleven have been charged with conspiracy to murder and preparing acts of terrorism.

Two men charged in the alleged plot were released Wednesday after a British court ruled the evidence against them was insufficient to warrant a trial. Umair Hussain, 25, and Mehran Hussain 23, had been charged with failing to disclose information about an act of terrorism.

Christine Monaco, a spokeswoman for the FBI in New York, declined to comment on Mershon’s speech.

Mershon told cybersecurity conference attendees that representatives of MI5, the British intelligence service, briefed the FBI on the liquid-explosives case in recent weeks. “It would make your hair stand up to be in the room to hear that presentation,” Mershon said, according to GSN.

Bruce Hoffman, a terrorism expert and Georgetown University professor, said the case indicates that Islamic extremists remain focused on attacking U.S. cities.

“They were clearly desirous of exceeding 9/11,” Hoffman said. “The loss of life on the air and ground would be significant.”

Material from The Associated Press is included in this report.

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New rules governing aviation security, due to come into effect on Monday, will greatly restrict the amount of liquids, aerosols, gels and other toiletries that passengers can bring through airport security.

The new rules are the result of EU regulations brought in following the terror alert in Britain last August.

From Monday, only containers of 100mls or less of liquids (including drinks), gels, pastes, lotions and cosmetics can be brought through passenger security screening points in all EU airports.

The items must be presented at security screening in a transparent re-sealable bag of no more than one litre capacity, or 20cm by 20cm, which is separate from their hand luggage bag. Only one such transparent bag is allowed per passenger.

The transparent bag must be put through the X-ray machine during screening.

The only exceptions to the rule are baby food and medicines needed during the flight. But these must also be placed in a separate transparent re-sealable bag and presented separately at security. The passenger may also be asked to demonstrate that they are genuine.

The transparent re-sealable bags are available at most supermarkets, but airport authorities say they will be available at Irish airports during the introductory period.

Passengers will still be able to buy liquids and gels of any size in shopping areas beyond security screening and on board flights. Such items will be packed in tamper evident bags by sales assistants.

Passengers who are transferring at airports in the EU from a flight which originated in the EU, and who have purchased items in the airside shopping area or on board the aircraft, will be allowed take the items on board their second flight as long as the items are still in the tamper evident bag.

Passengers who are transferring at an EU airport and whose first flight was from outside the EU will need to conform with the new regulations.

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NICOSIA, Cyprus: Cyprus on Thursday suspended the operating license of budget airline ajet after it halted flights citing financial difficulties, and a court froze its assets to settle debts to the government.

The carrier had replaced Helios Airways following a crash that killed all 121 passengers and crew in Greece last year.

“The company’s air operator’s certificate has been suspended today,” Transport Minister Harris Thrasou said. “We are obliged to take all measures to protect the state’s interests and apply every possible pressure on this company to fulfill its obligations.”

A court Thursday froze ajet assets worth three million Cyprus pounds ($6.72 million, €5.26 million) following a motion filed by the state. Ajet owes the state two million Cyprus pounds ($4.84 million, €3.79 million) in passenger and airport taxes.

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By Laura Petrecca, USA TODAY

Road warriors now can log extra airline miles by sitting still to watch ads on the Web.

On Wednesday, Web start-up e-Miles introduced a venture that lets consumers earn miles on Delta, Continental (CAL), Northwest and US Airways (LCC) by watching ads online and answering follow-up questions about those messages.

About 14 advertisers, including 1-800-Flowers.com and Hilton Hotels, have signed on to the service, which launches in January.

While rewards can vary, most consumers will earn 20 to 30 miles per minute of time spent with an ad, says e-Miles President Mark Drusch.

How it works:

• Consumers join at e-miles.com and select the one carrier for which they want to earn miles.

• They pick categories in which they want to receive ads. Initially there will be about 20, such as automotive, financial services and health care.

• E-Miles e-mails consumers with links to ads for viewing. They can vary in format from a text ad to a streaming-video commercial.

• The consumer watches, then is asked follow-up questions. An auto advertiser, for instance, might ask if the ad was for a truck, SUV or luxury car, Drusch says. Subsequent questions will be more probing, such as gauging a consumer’s interest in buying a new car.

• Earned miles in increments of 500 are transferred to the consumer’s account at the preferred carrier once a quarter. There is no cap on miles earned. E-Miles buys them in bulk from the airlines.

Marketers signing up for e-Miles’ service can pick from different payment plans based on the level of customer interaction that they want. For instance, a company can pick a plan in which they solely pay for the number of e-mails sent out to customers, or they can select a more detailed plan in which they pay only for the ads viewed.

“The beauty of this channel is that you pay for only actual engagement with customers,” says Adam Burke, senior VP of customer loyalty for Hilton Hotels. “It’s not like traditional media, where you pay money and then hope that it reaches customers.”

He says that by offering an incentive, consumers are more likely to pay attention to commercials.

“Everyone is looking to engage customers,” Burke says. “But the problem is that people aren’t particularly interested or vested in responding.”

Forrester Research travel analyst Henry Harteveldt is more skeptical about the value of such an incentive-based program.

“I certainly see the benefit for the airlines. They will sell miles and get revenue for that,” Harteveldt says. “I don’t see the merits for an advertiser, since anyone who has to be paid for their opinion is a questionable customer.”

Drusch, however, argues that when they earn rewards, consumers are more attentive and responsive when they interact with a brand.

“Most people, when they know they are being paid for something, will complete the contract.”

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The European Union has warned some airlines for operating below the essential safety level. PIA is among those placed under monitoring. Those who may like to see details can visit “www.flightinternational.com” or read the latest copy of this magazine. The government of Pakistan should understand that neither induction of cutting edge latest technology aircrafts such as the Boeing 777 or the leasing of old obsolete Tristars are either the remedy or the cause for this crisis. PIA has strangely enough leased Tristars for operating to Saudi Arabia, an aircraft almost 15 years older than either the A300-B4 that it grounded which is 20 years older than its own fleet of 747-200s.
PIA’s credibility suffered a major blow when a brand new Boeing 777s had a fire on its landing gear. This was followed by a series of incidents at major European airports including fuel leaks. These cannot be termed teething problems, nor be blamed on an ageing fleet. The fire on the Boeing 777’s landing gear was attributed to the use of substandard grease, used by a retired AVM serving as the DMD engineering. PIA also had a lot of problems with the A310 that it had leased from Air Jamaica. After expiry of a deal with Cathay for overhauling of engines, no alternate arrangements were made for more than 18 months. The Boeing 737 a versatile aircraft widely used is undergoing a serious crisis due to lack of maintenance and adequate parts’ availability.

The warning given to the airline points to failures of its engineering and maintenance division as well as the flight operations and corporate safety divisions. Had there been an in-house audit either by the airline’s corporate safety division or by the Civil Aviation Authority, the national flag carrier of Pakistan, would not have to endure the ignominy of being warned by the European Union. We need to understand that the induction of retired air force personnel or khakis is not the solution, but part of the problem. There is need for a management with an abundance of experience in aviation, instead of men from the private sector or uniformed services. PIA is a vital national asset, which has provided essential logistics support, apart from being our flag carrier.

Nasir K Kakakhel

Peshawar

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