German Police Union Criticizes Airport Security

The German police union on Tuesday criticized security standards at Germany's airports after an aborted plot to plant a bomb on a plane was unveiled.

Security breaches at Frankfurt airport have been an ongoing problem for many years, the German police union GdP noted, blaming privatization in the sector for the problem.

"You can't really even call it security with a clear conscience," GdP chief Konrad Freiberg told the Hannover daily Neue Presse on Tuesday.

His comments came one day after German prosecutors announced that an investigation had been launched into a group alleged to have plotted a terrorist attack on a passenger plane at Frankfurt airport in the summer.

Freiberg said tests at airports by the federal police for years had shown error margins of 30 to 50 percent, adding that privatizing these federal responsibilities was "irresponsible".

"This privatization has led to wage dumping," Freiberg said, adding that the quality of personnel had declined as a result.

The Federal Prosecutor's Office in Karlsruhe said on Monday it had investigated six men, suspected of having asked an airport worker with security access to help smuggle a suitcase full of explosives on to a passenger plane.

Five of the suspects were released on Saturday, but the sixth remains in custody on rape charges.

Prosecutors declined to reveal any other details, but media reports here said the bomb was destined to be planted on a flight by an Israeli airline, either El Al or a charter company.

The suspects are allegedly Palestinians from Jordan, Kuwait, Iraq and Lebanon, reports said, adding that they had lived in Germany as asylum seekers for the past five to six years.

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