U.S. Lifts Its Warning on Athens Airport

The United States, citing Greece’s “positive action” in improving security at the Athens airport, today canceled its advisory warning Americans against traveling to the Greek gateway.

The State Department’s advisory against travel was issued June 18, after TWA Flight 847 was hijacked en route from Athens to Rome by two men who managed to get a pistol and a hand grenade aboard the plane.

Greek authorities insisted that security was up to international standards and that the weapons may have been concealed aboard the TWA plane at its previous stop, Cairo.

But U.S. authorities faulted the Athens security on several counts, including lack of protection around the perimeter of the airport and lack of security around parked aircraft.

State Department spokesman Chuck Redman, reading a statement, said a Federal Aviation Administration team found that the Greek government had “taken positive action to improve airport security and Athens International Airport now meets international airport security requirements.”

Details Kept Secret

Redman said that the FAA report will not be made public and that details of the improvements will be kept secret for reasons of security.

The State Department said there is still no change in the U.S. warning against airlines flying to Beirut International Airport because of security problems there.

Transportation Secretary Elizabeth Hanford Dole said the Athens directive was rescinded after a study by the FAA.

“Last week, our FAA security specialists assessed the actions undertaken by Greek authorities to improve security at Athens,” Dole said in a statement.

“They were pleased to find that Athens International Airport now meets internationally accepted standards of security. I want to assure all Americans that we will continue to monitor security arrangements at Athens and other international airports.”