British Airways canceled its afternoon flight to Washington on Friday, the third consecutive day on which the flight has been affected due to security fears.

Europe's biggest airline has been monitoring the security situation surrounding the flight after receiving advice from the government.

Thursday's flight, scheduled to take off from London's Heathrow airport, was canceled and another was detained on the runway shortly after landing at Washington's Dulles International Airport on Wednesday.

Security officials questioned passengers aboard the Boeing 747 before allowing them to disembark. No evidence of terrorism was found.

Nine flights to or from the United States have been canceled over the holiday season amid fears that hijackers could try to outdo the Sept. 11 attacks that killed around 3,000 people.

Several Air France flights have been escorted into US airspace in recent days by American fighter jets to make sure they stayed on course.

But the accuracy of US intelligence was questioned after the FBI reportedly had mistaken several passengers, including a child, for suspected terrorists that has led to the suspension of Air France transatlantic flights.

(Xinhua News Agency January 3, 2004)