Air Canada fears no-fly list fights

Ottawa: The country's biggest airline says it's worried about confrontations with irate travellers who could be barred from boarding aircraft under the Canadian no-fly list set to take effect next week.
Yves Duguay, director of security for Air Canada, told a public inquiry yesterday his main concern in implementing the program is "the safety and security of our front-line staff and the customers at the check-in counter."
It's not that anybody fears a frustrated terrorist will launch an attack on the airport ticket line, said Duguay. It's simply that "an unruly situation" could develop if people are told they can't fly because their names are on the list.
"The situation could be very tense and we need to have an authority figure in place to defuse that situation. So we want to make sure that we have a police presence."
Duguay offered his views to the inquiry headed by former Supreme Court justice John Major into to the 1985 Air India bombing. Although he's focusing on the downing of the jet, part of Major's mandate is to examine security measures to see if they're adequate to prevent similar tragedies.
The no-fly list, drawn up by the federal government, is scheduled to come into force Monday. Its aim is to keep anyone deemed a security threat from boarding a commercial air flight originating or stopping in Canada.
15/06/07 Jim Brown/CP/London Free Press, Canada

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Categories: Air India Jun 2007, Foreign Jun 2007, Safety Jun 2007