The British Airways afternoon flight to Washington has been cancelled due to security fears. BA has now confirmed that flight BA 223 from Heathrow will not take off this afternoon. This is the third consecutive day on which the flight has been affected. A later flight on the route will take off, said the airline. It was due to take off just after 3pm but a statement from the airline said they had cancelled the flight following advice from the Government. Yesterday's flight from Heathrow was also cancelled due to security concerns and another BA 223 flight was kept on the runway at Washington Dulles International Airport for three hours over New Year. Security officials boarded the plane to question passengers before they were allowed to disembark. The Boeing 747 had been escorted into Dulles by two F-16 fighter jets. It has emerged that US authorities were acting on intelligence information - and not just suspicious passenger names - when they boarded the BA jet at Washington. But no evidence of terrorism was found. A US national secuity official said "concerns over individuals" on the flight and "threat reporting information" led to the flight being escorted. Meanwhile, an Aeromexico flight from Mexico City to Los Angeles was cancelled after US authorities refused to allow it to land. Flight 490 was cancelled after Homeland Security officials said they were concerned it might be a safety risk. Mexican officials found no evidence of a threat and all 40 passengers booked on the Aeromexico flight were allowed to leave on a later Mexicana flight. It has also emerged that several Air France flights have been escorted into US airspace in recent days by American fighter jets to make sure they stayed on course. **PHOTO CAPTION*** Armed police patrol at Heathrow Airport's Terminal Four in London, January 2, 2004. (REUTERS/Toby Melville)