7 APRIL 2001, Page 26

BA knitwits

From Miss Carol Maddison Sir: British Airways has had some odd policies for quite some time. Mr Duncan Reed's letter (17 March) reminds me of the time I tried to travel, years ago, on BA from Leeds to New York, with my knitting.

'British Air doesn't allow passengers to travel with knitting,' I was told. The confiscated handiwork was bundled into a plastic bag and sent off as 'unaccompanied baggage'. It managed to change planes at Heathrow and duly turned up, a forlorn little package, on the carousel at JFK.

I suppose BA worried that I might try to stab someone with the needles. They never gave thought to the mischief I might have caused with the (metal) knife and fork issued at dinner time!

Carol Maddison

San Francisco, California