British authorities say they have thwarted a terrorist plot to blow up aircraft flying from Britain to the United States.
British Home Secretary John Reid says a major counter-terrorism operation has been carried out to disrupt what he believes was a major threat to the United Kingdom.
 “The police, acting with the Security Service, MI5, are investigating an alleged plot to bring down a number of aircraft with mid-flight explosions.”
Security has been beefed up at airports across the country.
British Airport Authority CEO Tony Douglas says the department of transport asked all airports to put additional security measures in place to ensure passenger safety.
“Check in and hand search processes across all four terminals have been severely affected and this will continue throughout the day.”
Heathrow airport, the busiest in Europe, was closed to most European flights on Thursday morning after the alert.
Britain has also raised its security threat level to its highest rating of “critical” in response to the threat.
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Director: Liu Chi