Airlines win insurance aid

Airlines breathed a collective sigh of relief today after Britain won 11th hour approval from the European Commission to provide emergency aid to carriers left without adequate insurance after the attacks on New York and Washington.

It had been feared that many planes would have been instantly grounded had the go-ahead not been given late yesterday. Commercial insurance companies withdrew war risk coverage after 11 September. Reports suggested that some insurers want to impose a surcharge of around 90p per passenger to restore the policies to their original status.

Announcing the Commission's decision, a spokesman said: "Without this aid, which is granted for a period of one month, planes would have been grounded from 24 September onwards."