Britain’s government is suspending direct flights between the U.K. and Yemen over security concerns following the failed Detroit airliner attack.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown in a statement to lawmakers on Wednesday confirmed the decision to halt services between London and Sana’a, the Yemeni capital.
Foreign Office minister Ivan Lewis said Tuesday flights would only be resumed once the Yemeni government enhances airport security.
Mr. Lewis says suspending direct flights was key to Britain’s duty to protect the “security of its citizens.”
Former London student Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian with links to Yemen, is accused of attempting to blow up a Northwest Airlines flight on Christmas Day as it was preparing to land in Detroit.