Asian airlines oppose giving crew arms for safety

CEBU, Philippines (Reuters) - Asia Pacific airlines vowed Friday to take all possible steps to improve safety and security, but said providing arms to cabin crew could have "unintended consequences."

"We think it would probably lead to more deaths," Richard Stirland, director general of an association of 17 regional airlines, told a news conference, referring to the proposal.

A resolution adopted by the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) also said governments were directly responsible for air security and its funding.

There have been suggestions in the United States that flight crews should carry firearms to combat hijackers.

"Flight and cabin crews are the last line of defense and need improved security training, but the use of lethal weapons in flight by crew members can have unintended consequences," the resolution said.

"The AAPA ... resolves to oppose arming flight crews with lethal weapons."

The AAPA's stance echoed views held by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

"A pilot's duty is to fly an aircraft safely. It is not his duty to be engaged in armed combat," IATA's regional director for the Asia Pacific, Andrew Drysdale, told a separate news conference.

"The airlines and their passengers have paid their taxes and should not be asked to contribute beyond that to be protected from terrorism. Airlines are now fitting reinforced doors in order to secure the cockpit. We are doing our part," he said.

Security was among the top items on the agenda at the two-day annual meeting of senior airline executives. The hijack-suicide attacks in the United States over a year ago were still fresh in the minds of those attending the meeting, but the summit also came a month after bombings on the Indonesian resort island of Bali killed more than 180 people.

Most of the dead were foreign tourists.