Extra security for USA flights

Up to six US air marshals have been assigned to flights between the UK and the USA amid fears of coordinated terrorist attacks, according to reports.

Law enforcement officials told ABCNews.com that marshals are now located throughout planes on flights from London and Manchester to the USA, as well as on transatlantic flights to and from Frankfurt.

The new security arrangements affect flights from Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester Airports. They were put in place about two weeks ago after intelligence was received that al-Qaida may be plotting another air hijack, the officials said.

"We're afraid someone in the back is going to mix something or light something up, so air marshals are being placed strategically through the plane," commented one unidentified official.

The US department of commerce recently announced that 3.1 million people from around the world travelled to the country in January this year, with Britons accounting for 41 per cent of all western European visitors.

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