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South African Flights to London Go Ahead

Posted on: Wednesday, 20 July 2005, 15:01 CDT

South African flights to London go ahead

JOHANNESBURG, July 7 (Xinhua) -- All airlines flying to Britain from South Africa would operate as usual after a string of bomb blasts in London on Thursday, said Airports Company South Africa ( ACSA).

"Passengers just need to realize that they might find movement difficult to and from airports because the (London) public transport system has been affected," ACSA spokeswoman Jacqui O' Sullivan said.

At least 33 people have been killed and hundreds injured after blasts on the underground stations and a bus in central London at morning rushing hours, one day after the city was announced host of the 2012 Olympic games.

South African Airways (SAA) spokeswoman Sarah Uys said none of their flights would be affected this evening.

"At this stage, none of SAA's flights to London this evening will be affected due to bombings in the city today.

"SAA has received information from UK authorities that patrols have been enhanced and extra vigilance has been called for, but airport operations are continuing as normal. Police expect to maintain a normal response to Heathrow Airport," said Uys.

Three of SAA's aircraft at London's Heathrow airport, scheduled to depart on Thursday evening, were expected to leave as planned.

Uys said SAA had additional security in place at Heathrow, in line with the world's best practice and British Transport Department processes.

"The safety of its passengers is SAA's number one priority," she said, adding the airline would keep its passengers informed of any changes.

Uys said it was not yet known how many passengers had canceled their flights to London after the attacks.

She said a figure would be difficult to determine, as people canceled for various reasons and did not have to give reasons.

Any security measures to be taken in South Africa by airlines in light of the bomb blasts were being determined by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

ACSA spokesman Bryan Thompson said the CAA was in touch with its British counterpart to determine what security measures, if any, should be taken.

Source: Xinhua News Agency - CEIS

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