Australian air security in doubt

Flight attendants have been attacked in recent months

In the latest breach of Australia's airline security, a man was detained on Friday after carrying a knife and a metal baton onto a domestic flight, police said.

The 30-year-old man was detained after becoming "obstructive" on a Regional Express flight from the town of Lismore to Sydney, a police spokesman said.

Cabin crew then spotted what turned out to be a retractable metal baton among his belongings. He later handed in a knife he had also been carrying, according to police.

Friday's discovery is the latest in a string of incidents which point to a lack of security on Australian domestic flights.

Transport Workers Unions (TWU) state secretary Tony Sheldon said the incident "makes a mockery" of recent government assurances that security is adequate at Australian airports.

The government insists that checks have been beefed up significantly in the past 18 months, in the wake of the bomb attack in Bali - in which many Australians lost their lives - and the attacks on the US on 11 September 2001.

An intelligence assessment issued by the US Department of Homeland Security earlier this week warned that Australia could be a target for attacks similar to the 11 September hijackings.

But after questioning from the Australian Government, the US changed its advisory, downgrading Australia from a terrorist target to a possible point of origin for attacks.

In a further effort to bolster security, the government announced on Friday that armed "sky marshals" could be guarding some international flights by the end of the year, according to the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper.

Prime Minister John Howard told local radio that he expected to sign an agreement with the Americans very soon, to allow the sky marshals on flights between Australia and the US.

Stabbings

But despite the increased security measures, there have been several incidents in recent months which have highlighted lapses of security.

Last month, a man stabbed another passenger with a fork on a flight from Bangkok to Sydney.

In June, a man was arrested after threatening to crash a domestic flight, and a week later another passenger was arrested for taking box cutters out of his bag after takeoff.

In May, a man was charged with attempting to hijack a plane, after he attacked crew with wooden stakes on a domestic flight which had just taken off from Melbourne.