International airlines are gearing up for a major push to force governments to pay more towards the anti-terror measures they have been forced to implement, industry sources said on Monday.

The sources said the carriers -- and the airports their passengers pass through -- were likely to become increasingly vocal in the coming weeks.

"It is clear the companies cannot go on forever taking the full burden of the security costs that have been imposed on them," said one industry official who asked not to be named. "They are going to start speaking out firmly."

Signals of displeasure came over the weekend in a statement from the Brussels-based Association of European Airlines (AEA).

"Terrorist action is aimed at governments and not the airline industry," the AEA said. "The terrorist threat therefore requires a united front from the aviation industry and their governments, with a comprehensive and responsible funding policy."

In an interview with the International Herald Tribune last week, Giovanni Bisignani, head of the global airlines' body IATA, said the cost to the travelling public of security measures was USD$5 billion a year, largely passed onto the carriers.

International airlines, the overwhelming majority of which are members of the Geneva- and Montreal-based IATA, are expecting a total loss of USD$4 billion this year, boosted from an earlier predicted USD$3 billion because of soaring fuel costs.

Between the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States and the start of 2004, the industry as a whole had racked up losses of some USD$30 billion, with some airlines hit worse than others.

Although international scheduled traffic has increased by nearly 17 percent so far this year against the same period last year, this has not increased optimism among the carriers.

"Unfortunately traffic growth and profitability do not always work hand in hand and we still expect industry losses in excess of USD$4 billion for this year," Bisignani said in a November 30 statement on the figures.

"STATES MUST PAY"

The AEA statement was headed: "Enough is Enough: States Must Pay to Protect the Public from Terrorism."

It was issued in the name of Association members who include all European commercial airlines except the new low-cost budget carriers -- who nevertheless have already made clear that they are chafing at security costs.

A European Commission study published on Friday showed that in 2002 alone European airlines and airports paid EUR3 billion (nearly USD$4 billion) for additional anti-terror measures ordered by governments.

Governments in Europe, it said, had been very active in setting up a comprehensive anti-terrorist framework "but have failed to move to the next step and finance those necessary preventative measures."

The AEA held up the actions of the US government as an example of what should be done in Europe.

It cited the EU study as showing that since September 2001 the US administration had provided some USD$32 billion in financial aid to the US aviation industry.

"This clearly demonstrates that the US administration has understood its responsibility for protecting society, both in the air and on the ground, against terrorist acts," the AEA said.

(Reuters)