P. M. BRIEFING : Air Travel Secure, Skinner Says

Transportation Secretary Samuel K. Skinner said today that airline security has substantially improved since a bomb destroyed Pan Am Flight 103 a year ago and told travelers they should not fear terrorist attacks.

“Nothing we have seen indicates people shouldn’t fly,” he said on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” But he did warn passengers to be careful.

The State Department last week issued a general warning against possible terrorist attacks against European and American targets after reports were received of movement of Middle Eastern terrorists in Western Europe.

Skinner said the U.S. government would cancel flights if necessary, but as yet has had no indication that the level of threats of terrorist activity had risen to that extreme level.

“Security on airlines, especially U.S. flag carriers, is substantially enhanced from where it was a year ago,” he said.