The British authorities have raised their terror alert from substantial to severe. As a statement from the Home Secretary puts it:
“The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre has today raised the threat to the UK from international terrorism from SUBSTANTIAL to SEVERE.”
The U.S. terror threat level generally is at “elevated” or yellow since Aug 12, 2005. The level for the airlines and airports has been orange or “high” since the airliner bomb plot of August 2006.
The British raised the threat level last Friday and it came on the same day that Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano was in Geneva, Switzerland meeting with the International Air Transport Association to urge greater action on aviation security in the wake of the Christmas Day bombing attempt on a Northwest Airlines flight on its approach to Detroit.
Coincidentally, (or perhaps not) is the unusual number of people on the no fly list that are trying to board flights to the United States.