May will urge UN to act against terrorism targeted at air travel

INTERNATIONAL action is needed to protect passenger jets and airports from terrorism, Theresa May will tell world leaders at the United Nations.

The Prime Minister will push for a Security Council resolution calling for standards to be raised worldwide amid concerns that airports could be targeted as a weak link by groups such as Islamic State.

She will join leaders in New York tomorrow for a summit which will also focus on the migration crisis, with US president Barack Obama and UN Secretary General Ban Kimoon keen to secure progress before they leave their posts.

Mrs May’s drive for action on aviation security follows the downing of a Russian Metrojet flight from Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt in October 2015 and the attacks at airports in Brussels and Istanbul this year.

As heads of state and leaders of government gather for the UN General Assembly (UNGA), UK officials said Mrs May wanted to ensure that security measures were fully implemented in airports around the world.

At her first UNGA as Prime Minister, Mrs May will be joined by Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and International Development Secretary Priti Patel. The UK has been calling for action at a UN level on aviation security and hopes to achieve a “landmark” Security Council resolution later this week.

“In the wake of the Metrojet disaster last year, the attacks on Brussels and Istanbul airports, we have been doing work in the UK to look at the threat worldwide to aviation and what more could be done on it,” a source said.

The International Civil Aviation Organisation (Icao) has a series of security standards but the UK believes more can be done them fully.

The UK already has a network of aviation security liaison officers helping countries around the world to help improve protection against terrorism.

The push for a UN Security Council resolution, expected to be considered after Mrs May has left New York, comes ahead of Icao’s assembly later in September. to implement