Spaniard Threatens Air Crew With Knife

Airport security around the world came under the spotlight again yesterday, when a passenger on a flight from the Colombian capital Bogota to Madrid reportedly threatened crew and fellow passengers with a knife, a box cutter and some needles.

The attacker, a Cuban-born Spaniard, pulled out a knife shortly before the Avianca airlines flight was due to land at Barajas airport in Madrid.

He also threatened to blow up the aircraft with 144 passengers and 11 crew on board, according to local radio stations in the Spanish capital.

The captain of the Boeing 767 activated a hijacking alarm which saw a Spanish air force F-18 jet scrambled from the nearby air base of Torrejon to intercept the aircraft.

The passenger aircraft was forced to land at the air base, where a team of Civil Guard police officers stormed the plane and tackled the passenger who, according to some reports, was drunk.

Police were yesterday unable to explain how, the man was able to board the plane with his arsenal of small weapons going undetected.

The fact that he had a box cutter, the implement used by the September 11 suicide hijackers, increased concern over current airport security arrangements. Since last September, strict rules have been imposed on the carrying of sharp objects in passengers' hand luggage.

The flight started in Mexico and picked up passengers in Bogota before heading for Madrid. The man, named as Perfecto Manuel Vazquez Expusito, was taken to police cells in Madrid.