Singapore Airlines was forced to cancel a flight bound for London last Monday after a bomb threat but police investigations later found it was a false alarm. Police conducted a search of the plane at Changi Airport and said the plane was found to be safe. “No bomb was found on the original aircraft,” Singapore Airlines said in a statement. The airline and its unit Silk Air have already installed bullet-proof reinforced cockpit doors and use sky marshals armed with stun guns on flights deemed high risk. www.airwise.com Agents slate US security proposal The latest security proposals from the US Bureau of Customs & Border Protection will put confidential shipping data in the public domain and could increase the terrorist threat. That was a concern expressed by the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (Fiata) at last week’s world congress in Bali where the fear was expressed that information from vessel owners and NVOCCs would appear on the US Customs website and could even be passed on to outside organisations for commercial analysis. Fiata is writing to shippers’ councils in Europe, North America and Asia in the hope that joint opposition will encourage the authorities to think again. www.ifw-net.com MOL gets greener MOL has reorganised its technical division at the company’s head office in Japan. To further increase the environmental friendliness of its programmes, which is one of MOL’s most important goals, the company has formed the environmental group, a group that works exclusively on environmental issues to clarify MOL’s stances and develop new programmes. www.schednet.com Open skies negotiations resume The long-running battle to establish an “open skies” aviation agreement between the US and European countries resumes in Washington this week. For the first time, however, Europe will be speaking with one voice as the European Union negotiates on behalf of all its member countries. The shift in emphasis is not expected to bring a swift breakthrough in the search for a more liberal transatlantic agreement. The talks will, more likely, be just the opening shots in an effort to unravel restrictive rules on airlines flying between the US and Europe which have been in place for around 50 years. A full open skies agreement could lead to US and European airlines gaining access to airports on both sides of the Atlantic. www.airwise.com
