Wheels Down.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)(Editorial)

Homeland Security: A series of canceled international flights over the holiday period has been a welcome reminder that someone, as Jack Nicholson's character said in "A Few Good Men," is "on that wall."

In a little more than a week, a number of U.S.-bound flights have been canceled over security concerns. The affected carriers are British Airways and Air France across the Atlantic and AeroMexico south of the border.

In addition, some Air France and AeroMexico flights were trailed by U.S. military jets to be sure they didn't stray off course.

The increased threat of terrorism has also convinced authorities to expand the number of air marshals aboard U.S.-bound international flights, persuaded officials to divert an Air France flight to Canada, caused a British Airways flight to be detained away from the gate upon arrival at Washington's Dulles International Airport and led various other flights to be delayed.

Cancellations are a headache for travelers and can mean losses for the carriers, especially in the busy holiday season. So there has been some frustration. But so far, no one seems to be overly upset by the grounded flights.

"It's a period of tension and a period of risk," said French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy. "I prefer the principle of precaution."

Though his plans were upset by Friday's decision to keep British Airways' Dulles-bound flight 223 on the ground, William Mallett, a British consultant who works in Washington, said he was "not upset that" the flight was canceled.