Germany lifts passenger flight ban from Yemen

Germany has lifted a suspension of passenger flights from Yemen but left in place a ban on air cargo imposed after bombs were found in packages sent from there two weeks ago, the transport ministry said on Saturday.       

The discovery of suspected al-Qaeda parcel bombs at the end of last month prompted governments, airlines and aviation  authorities around the world to review their security. Several western states have implemented flight suspensions.         

Packages intercepted in Britain and Dubai contained bombs sent from Yemen and addressed to synagogues in Chicago. One, found on a United Parcel Service cargo plane at East Midlands Airport in Britain, had been trans-shipped at Cologne Bonn airport in Germany.  

A transport ministry spokesperson said passenger planes had been given permission to fly from Yemen to Germany as of 13:00 GMT on Friday. Cargo flights and the transport of cargo on passenger flights are still banned.

The decision to lift the ban on passenger flights followed a new security report from Germany's interior ministry, which sent German police to Yemen to investigate security at airports, the website "Spiegel Online" reported.