September 6, 2003	Saturday	Rajab 8, 1424

LONDON, Sept 5: British Airways said on Friday it would resume flights to Saudi Arabia that had been suspended due to security fears and said it would seek new high-tech anti-missile defences for its planes.

Europe’s biggest airline will restart flights to the Saudi capital Riyadh on Saturday and to Jeddah on Sunday after a review of security at and near the airports.

“Our own team of security experts, together with British government officials, has worked closely with the Saudi authorities to implement a number of additional, robust and sustainable security measures,” Geoff Want, BA’s director of safety and security, said in a statement.

“We will not fly to any destination unless we are satisfied it is safe to do so.”

After Saudi forces had running gunbattles with militants last month, Britain said it had credible evidence of a security threat to its aviation interests and BA suspended all flights there.

MISSILE ATTACKS: The BA said on Friday it was talking to aircraft manufacturers about high-tech measures to guard against surface-to-air missile attacks on its planes.

“Our security team has been talking to the manufacturers — Boeing and Airbus — about anti-missile technology,” said a British Airways spokeswoman, adding that exploratory talks had begun months ago and no decisions had yet been made.

—Reuters