The global focus on airline passenger security leaves the "door open" for attacks on cargo flights instead, a British pilots' union said. The British Airline Pilots' Association (BALPA) said pilots worldwide had warned for years of the threat to cargo flights.

It added that by only concentrating on airline passenger security globally "we have left the door open elsewhere". The union spoke out after a bomb was discovered on a cargo aircraft at a regional airport. The government says it is urgently reviewing air freight security.

BALPA General Secretary Jim McAuslan said it was good news that the combined intelligence services worked together effectively to foil the bomb plot.

"But, as the eyes and ears on the frontline, pilots' warnings about the whole security regime now need to be listened to," he said.

He said with almost all costs of British airport checks being borne by the industry there was a very real risk that commercial pressures would lead to lapses in security.

McAuslan said central government should fund and dictate the level of checks being made as is done in the United States. (Reuters)