Passengers face more airport delays

LONDON, Aug 15 (Reuters) Passengers faced a sixth day of delays at airports across Britain today despite the easing of a ban on airline cabin baggage, officials said.

Airport operator BAA said extra security checks will remain in place after Britain scaled down a security alert imposed last week when police said they had foiled a plot to blow up transatlantic airliners.

''Delays are likely'', the company said in a statement. ''Anyone travelling over the next few days is asked to allow extra time for their journey and to arrive at the airport prepared.'' Tough restrictions on hand luggage, which came into force today morning, are set to become permanent, the Financial Times reported.

Passengers can only take one item of hand luggage, the size of a laptop computer, onto planes as hand luggage.

Home Secretary John Reid said yesterday the downgrading of the threat of a terrorist attack from ''critical'', the highest level, to ''severe'', did not mean the danger of an attack had passed.

''There has now been time to assess the intelligence picture following the police operation,'' Reid told reporters. ''The police believe that the main suspects in the alleged plot were arrested last week.'' Police obtained a judge's permission to hold until tomorrow the 23 people it detained last week under suspicion of planning to blow up airliners bound for the United States with liquid explosives disguised as drinks.

The suspects can be held for up to 28 days without charge under new powers which came into force last month.

The police arrested the 23 -- British-born Muslims, mainly of Pakistani descent -- last week. A 24th suspect was freed.

Pakistan is holding another British national, Rashid Rauf, calling him an al Qaeda operative and the plot's mastermind.

The arrests have led to considerable soul-searching in Britain about the prospects of such a widespread underground militant conspiracy. Several of the suspects were converts to Islam and others were students and children of the middle class.

Four British Islamist suicide bombers killed 52 commuters on London transport last year, but the country has never seen such a wide-ranging investigation focusing on British citizens accused of Islamic extremism.

REUTERS MS RK1155