Flag carrier Malaysia Airlines is set to deploy armed sky marshals on some US-bound flights as demanded by Washington, a report said today.

The Star

newspaper quoted a source as saying that the airline has to comply with the US request or it may be barred from flying into the United States.

"The department of civil aviation and Malaysia Airlines have been told to ensure that armed policemen are deployed on flights which the US suspects as subject to risk. Preparations are being made to train the policemen," the source said.

The national carrier flies five times a week to Los Angeles and three times to New York, with both destinations seeing strong demand.

Announcement by ministry

A Malaysia Airlines spokesperson told AFP the Transport Ministry will make the announcement but indicated the government will have to comply with the US ruling. Marshals will only be placed randomly on selected flights and not on all US-bound flights, the spokesperson said.

Transport Ministry officials were not available for comment.

The United States last month told air carriers it expected the equivalent of its sky marshals to be on sensitive flights landing in US airports.

This has been criticised by some EU states including Denmark, Finland and Portugal, which fear it could heighten rather than lessen the security risk because hijackers could in theory wrest firearms from armed guards.- AFP