New Zealand moves to approve air marshalls
(AFP)
Updated: 2005-12-10 09:57

The New Zealand government has launched moves to allow armed marshals on aircraft to counter any perceived terrorist threat, according to a report.

A need for "in-flight security officers" has yet to arise in New Zealand but the country has to be able to move fast to respond to any change in its security status, Transport Safety Minister Harry Duynhoven told the New Zealand Herald.

His disclosure came after US air marshals shot dead a man who claimed to have a bomb on an aircraft in Miami, but who was unarmed and suffering a mental disorder.

The incident was a "pretty big wake-up call" about how security was managed, Duynhoven said.

Duynhoven said an amendment to the Aviation Security Bill would also lift the ban on overseas airlines carrying air marshals on flights to New Zealand.

It is understood New Zealand has turned down past applications for marshals to fly here.

"Merely having legislation which is permissive doesn't actually mean we will ever have air marshals," Duynhoven said.

"At the moment there is no signal I'm aware of that we have any need for any additional security."

Armed US air marshals disguised as passengers are placed on thousands of flights each week in an effort to prevent attacks on civilian planes.

After the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States the number of marshals went from 33 to thousands. The exact number is classified.

In December 2003, the US government ordered foreign airlines to put armed marshals on selected flights to further boost security on aircraft flying to, from and over the US.