New Zealand gov't decides against requiring flight deck barriers for small commuter aircraft

New Zealand gov't decides against requiring flight deck barriers for small commuter aircraft

2011-03-25 08:46:24 GMT+7 (ICT)

WELLINGTON (BNO NEWS) -- The New Zealand government has decided it will not be requiring flight deck barriers for small commuter aircraft, Transport Minister Steven Joyce confirmed on Friday.

In May 2009, the New Zealand government mandated strengthened flight deck barriers on aircraft with more than 30 seats and has since been investigating the feasibility of barriers for 19-seat aircraft.

"While it is technically possible for a barrier to be installed on 19 seat aircraft, it would add to the cost of flying to provincial destinations, and likely be cost-prohibitive for operators of small commuter fleets," Joyce said. "Officials were unable to find any example of other countries that required flight deck barriers for that size of aircraft."

Joyce said the installation of strengthened flight deck barriers on aircraft of more than 30 seats is progressing well. "Strengthened flight deck barriers have been introduced so far for about half the number of domestic aircraft with more than thirty seats," he said. "Once this task is completed next year over 92 percent of passengers on all scheduled domestic air services in New Zealand will be travelling on aircraft with strengthened cockpit doors."

He added: "Security committees are also now in place in nineteen regional airports and they are in the process of enhancing security training and education standards for airport and airline staff."

The moves to tighten aircraft security arose from a review of domestic aviation security undertaken following the attempted hijacking of Eagle Airways Flight 2279 in New Zealand in 2008, which involved a small British Aerospace Jetstream plane with 7 passengers and 2 crew members.

Aviation security around the world has been tightened for mostly larger aircraft since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, when a group of al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four passenger planes and crashed them into the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. Another crashed near Shanksville in Pennsylvania. Nearly 3,000 people were killed.

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