(Newswire.net — March 31, 2018) —
UK authorities searched Russian Airbus A321 upon its landing at the Heathrow International Airport in London. The search started without the presence of the captain whose presence was allowed after pressure from the Russian embassy.
While the major British news agencies skipped reporting about the event, news of yet another provocation spread through social networks which forced London’s Metropolitan Police to react. They denied the incident ever happened.
“We are aware of a story circulating on social media. Please be advised that Metropolitan Police are not conducting a search of an Airbus inbound from Moscow at Heathrow,” Metropolitan police tweeted.
The Russian embassy, however, went public with details. “”Today, we have witnessed another blatant provocation by the British authorities,” the statement reads.
“Border Force and Customs officers have searched the aircraft that was conducting the Aeroflot flights 2582 / 2583, Moscow – London – Moscow,” the Russian embassy stated, adding that the captain and the crew were denied presence during the search and were not given an explanation of the move. The presence of the captain was secured only after officials from the Russian embassy arrived at Heathrow.
Under International law, airplanes at civil airports are considered to be the territory of the country to whom that airplane belongs, just as a foreign embassy is considered to be foreign territory and it is off limits for authorities. Customs and police as a routine inspection upon landing at the international airport, however, always search the airplanes.
The procedure states that after passengers are off, the customs and police conduct a brief search of the cabin with the presence of the captain which is mandatory, not only because it is the property of another sovereign country but to be sure that nothing is planted while no one is watching.
This time, however, UK’s authorities decided to conduct a thorough search of the Aeroflot’s A321 denying presence to the captain of the airplane, which is a serious violation of International law.
“After the search was over, the British officers refused to provide any written document that would specify the reasons for their actions, their legal foundation and their outcome,” the Russian embassy stated, adding that a diplomatic note was sent “demanding the British side to provide explanations of the incident.”
The UK had been given one month to cut down the size of its diplomatic mission to Russia to the same size as the Russian mission to Britain, as a tit-for-tat response for banning Russian diplomats following an alleged role of Moscow in Skripal poisoning.