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View Full Version : Air marshals pulled from key flights



Sgt Sostand
07-30-03, 10:08 AM
Move seen as bid to cut costs
comes amid new
hijack warnings

WASHINGTON, July 29 — Despite renewed warnings about possible airline hijackings, the Transportation Security Administration has alerted federal air marshals that as of Friday they will no longer be covering cross-country or international flights, MSNBC.com has learned. The decision to drop coverage on flights that many experts consider to be at the highest risk of attack apparently stems from a policy decision to rework schedules so that air marshals don’t have to incur the expense of staying overnight in hotels.


SEVERAL AIR marshals contacted by MSNBC.com Tuesday confirmed that they were alerted via text messages on their TSA-issued cell phones to check their schedules for changes.
“All overnights, starting from August first through the ninth, were canceled,” an air marshal told MSNBC.com. “My [supervisor] told me overnights for all [field offices] were being canceled for an indefinite amount of time,” said the air marshal, who requested anonymity. “The supervisors said they only had time to change schedules through the ninth.”
Current flight schedules, which run through the end of July, Thursday, are staying intact, another air marshal told MSNBC.com.