The federal government is concerned Qantas planes could be shot down by terrorist missiles while flying in and out of the United States or Britain.Prime Minister John Howard said there were concerns in Britain and the US about possible ground-to-air missile attacks on commercial airliners, including Australian flights.
But Mr Howard played down concerns that public buildings and meeting places could be at risk, despite a report warning that Australia was 18 months behind the US in safeguarding such infrastructure from terrorism.
Mr Howard said Australia had discussed with Britain the possibility of terrorist attacks on Qantas flights in and out of London’s Heathrow airport.
The US has sent aviation security experts to Iraq, Europe and Asia, amid fears that terrorists could use shoulder-fired missiles to shoot down passenger jets.
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Mr Howard said it was difficult to protect commercial aircraft against such attacks.
Aviation officials say missiles that can be bought illegally for about $US5,000 ($A7,700) can hit jets from as far as 50km from an airport.
While many military aircraft have anti-missile technology, commercial aircraft do not. Fitting such technology to commercial aircraft would cost as much as $US2 million per plane, US experts say.
Mr Howard said the Australian embassy in Indonesia was also a possible terrorist target.
An Australian Institution of Engineers report said terrorists could target places where people gathered, such as Flinders Station in Melbourne, Rundle Mall in Adelaide, and the WACA cricket ground in Perth.
It said public infrastructure needed to be designed or modified to protect against terrorist attacks.