Aj Congress Hails Pilots’ Group Recommending Sanctions Against Air Piracy

A recommendation by the Air Line Pilots Association of the United States calling for sanctions against governments that fail to act against hijackers has been hailed by the American Jewish Congress as “the most promising and practical step taken thus far to end the terror of air piracy and to restore security to international air travel.” In a letter to Charles Ruby, president of the American pilots’ groups, the Congress praised the recommendation as “a breakthrough that contrasts decisively with the foot-dragging and sluggishness that has characterized all intergovernmental action on this issue during the past several years.” The American pilots’ organization announced last week that it had recommended a policy of sanctions to the International Federation of Air Line Pilots Associations (IFALPA) “to combat air piracy.”

The recommendation called for “sanctions with respect to airports in any country which is henceforth unwilling or unable to provide the necessary security within its political jurisdiction against sabotage or air piracy.” The AJ Congress letter, signed by Phil Baum, assistant executive director, said the results of the International Civil Aviation Organization meeting in Montreal last week had been “disappointing.” He added: “In their deliberations on air hijacking, official government agencies–both in the UN and elsewhere–have proven themselves so bound by rigidities of protocol and procedure as to discourage any confidence in their capacity to act in time to prevent further assaults upon human life. It is plain that the initiative to end the air hijacking epidemic can best come from the private civil aviation community acting in defense of its own safety and security.”