UK Bans Flights From Yemen

The British government yesterday ordered an immediate halt to direct flights from Yemen to the UK as a security precaution. Prime Minister Gordon Brown, describing the country as "both an incubator and potential safe haven for terrorism," also announced the creation of an expanded no-fly list of people with suspected terror links, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The halt to Yemen flights is pending enhanced security precautions on incoming flights from the nation, Brown said. The UK wants flights from Yemenia, Yemen's national airline, to stop in Cairo or Paris for extra security checks, but the airline has opted to cancel the flights instead. "We ourselves are very concerned by security measures,” a Yemenia Airlines official tells BusinessWeek. “They asked us to do these things, but it’s not realistic. We cannot do it. Nobody would fly, the plane would be empty.” (More Yemenia Air stories.)