Israel's Stepped-Up Air Defense Alerts: MH 370. Gaza, and Perhaps Iran as Well?

Blogging may be light for a couple of more days due to Spring issue deadlines at the end of the month, but there's been some attention paid in Israel to reports the country has stepped up it's air defenses due to the uncertainties about the whereabouts of the missing Malaysian airliner. (I may be the only person who hasn't talked about that yet, but until now, other than the two Iranians on fake passports, there was no resonance in the Middle East.)

Since there's no evidence of what actually happened but some evidence pointing to some nefarious purpose, it's hardly news that Israel (and other countries in the region I would presume, not least India and China) might be stepping up the vigilance of their air defenses. Claims (among the many other theories) that the aircraft might have landed somewhere in non-government controlled regions of Afghanistan or northwestern Pakistan (and be under Afghan or Pakistani Taliban control) may be wildly improbable (surely US, Indian, and Pakistani intelligence monitoring has that area pretty much saturated). Even if there's a remote chance, though, no one wants another 9/11. Well, no neighboring state does.

But I would also note that even before the reports of stepped-up Israeli measures due to MH370, Israel had already announced a limited callup of air defense reserves last week after a barrage of rockets from Gaza and Israel's retaliation. That, and the fact that belligerent rhetoric towards Iran has seen a resurgence lately, all may contribute to an enhanced alert condition for Israel's air defenses.

Nostalgia: The London-Sharja-Karachi Run

The National has a nice piece on "When London to Karachi was a Weeklong Trip." Sharja in those days was the most prominent of the "Trucial States" that now form the UAE because it was where Imperial Airways stopped over on its way to India from London. London to Karachi took nearly a week with many overnight stops. That's a Handley-Page 42 from the 1930s, a passenger-carrying biplane.

Snakes on a Plane . . . and a SQUIRREL?

No, I never saw the movie of that name. But The National reports that Abu Dhabi airport had an interesting security event:

The Saudi passenger was said to have been carrying four snakes, two parrots and a squirrel in his hand luggage.

He was caught at the first security checkpoint after arriving at Abu Dhabi International Airport on Etihad Airlines flight EY471 from Jakarta, which landed in the capital shortly before midnight on Thursday.

The animals were not licensed for international transport. They had no health certification, nor confirmation that they were not on any endangered list.

Abu Dhabi police officials expressed surprise that the passenger had cleared security at Jakarta with the animals.

Perhaps Jakarta's version of the TSA isn't quite as intrusive. Also, I realize the snakes and parrots may be exotic and thus valuable specimens with a high resale value, but he was smuggling a squirrel? If he gets out on bail, he can have his pick of my backyard, no charge.

This is likely to be one of those stories where you never see a follow-up, and are left scratching your head forever.

Iraqi Airways to be Liquidated

This story's from yesterday but I'm just getting to it. Iraqi Airways is being declared bankrupt and will be wound down, though it may take up to three years to do so. It is going belly up because of Kuwaiti efforts to seize aircraft at European airports in compensation for Kuwaiti claims for equipment stolen by Iraq during the occupation of Kuwait in 1990-91. The BBC version is here and Al Jazeera English is here.

I'm no lawyer but it does seem a little unfair that an elected, Shi‘ite dominated government is paying the price for Saddam Hussein's depredations nearly 20 years ago. But yes, I know, the Federal Republic of Germany paid reparations for Nazi actions, and there are plenty of other precedents. And I'm sure Iraqi Airways has other problems besides the Kuwaiti claims: it only just started flying to London again for the first time in 20 years, and tourism is presumably not exactly booming.

I only few Iraqi Airways once (well, twice, two legs of the same trip) so I've got no huge nostalgtia factor at work here. But it's a reminder that for all its other problems, Iraq still has the legacy of Kuwaiti reparations to deal with.

Did Cairo Catch Weapons JFK Missed?

An Egyptian-American passenger has been detained at Cairo airport after arriving on an Egypt Air flight from New York with "six metal boxes containing two 9mm pistols, 250 bullets, two swords, and 11 daggers."

The firearms were in checked luggage, but the TSA is saying they were not declared, according to The New York Times. The NYT article seems to suggest that the TSA screening does not check for firearms (which unlike explosives can't harm the flight if in the cargo hold), but not declaring them would still be a violation. It's also a rather risky thing to take into a Middle Eastern airport, even if the TSA at JFK let them through.

Oh, and: two swords and 11 daggers?

UPDATE: Or perhaps two swords, five daggers, and six knives. That clears that up.

Eyjafjallajökull and the Middle East

The eruption of the volcano Eyjafjallajökull (pronounced, I assume, as if having a convulsive sneezing attack) has not just disrupted transatlantic traffic. Obviously, Middle Eastern traffic to Western Europe is also disrupted, and that's a key bit of Gulf business, not to mention that Europeans are a key to tourism in many Middle Eastern countries. Some of the damage: some 48 flights from Cairo and the Red Sea Port of Ghardaqa cancelled as of yesterday; many tourists stuck in Egypt; 15 flights a day out of Hariri International in Beirut canceled; a whole list of UAE flights cancelled yesterday (though there's the good news that Dubai will not fine tourists for overstaying their visas); Emirates Airlines has already lost $50 million; while Arab News says that Arab airlines as a whole were losing 50 million euros a day. (That seems a lot given overall losses have been reported as $200 million a day for all air carriers, but I suspect everyone is still guessing.)

They'll be talking about this for years, but they'll be saying "that volcano in Iceland," because I just don't think "Eyjafjallajökull" is going to become a proverbial phrase, even for those of us who know an ‘ayn from a ghayn.

Correction. All morning I had it spelled Eyjafjallajokull. It should have been Eyjafjallajökull. Sorry.

And for those who really want to know how it's pronounced, see here and here.