|
September 21, 2001
Nunavummiut return to the air
After terror, Northern
skies become friendly again
AARON SPITZER
Nunatsiaq News
A
First Air jet sits in front of a departure gate at Dorval airport
in Montreal this week.
(PHOTO BY JANE GEORGE)
 |
IQALUIT — After a week of fear and confusion, flying in
the North is returning to normal.
For passengers, not much has changed. Only southbound flights
from Iqaluit and Rankin Inlet are subject to stricter security
standards.
After briefly insisting that all travellers show photo ID before
boarding their flights, Transport Canada has suspended that requirement.
Northern airlines now say no such identification is needed —
good news for Nunavummiut, few of whom own photo ID.
And while northern airlines at first advised customers to arrive
at the airport two hours before their scheduled departure, company
officials now say that much time isn’t necessary.
But arriving early, and carrying photo ID, is still a good idea,
officials say.
Airlines are also urging passengers heading south from Iqaluit
and Rankin to watch what they pack. They warn that sharp objects
— from knives to corkscrews to nail clippers — will
be confiscated from travellers before they board their flights.
“Anything that’s in question, just throw it in your
suitcase,” advised Kelly Kaylo, director of sales and marketing
for Canadian North.
Checked baggage, too, will be subject to stricter scrutiny. While
checking luggage, passengers will be asked a set of questions,
including “Did you pack this bag yourself?” and “Have
you left this bag unattended?”
Then, before airplanes take off, baggage handlers will make sure
each bag is matched to a passenger aboard the flight.
Regulations on cargo have changed as well. Before cargo can fly
on a passenger aircraft, it will be held in a warehouse for 36
hours.
Basically, that’s so if a box contains a bomb, it will blow
up on the ground and not in the air.
The cargo rule applies to parcels dropped off with the airlines
as well as those sent through the mail. In the North, where all
mail moves by air, only envelopes will be exempt from the 36-hour
wait.
That rule applies to all communities, not just Iqaluit and Rankin.
Airline officials are wary of talking about other changes to
their security systems.
“We’re trying to limit our comments to what the passenger
needs to know and do differently,” said First Air spokeswoman
Tracy Beeman. Saying too much about security measures could give
clues to terrorists about how to circumvent the system, she said.
Airline officials warn that the rules in force today may not
apply tomorrow. In the days since last week’s terrorist attack
in Washington, D.C., and New York City, Transport Canada has been
sending a near-constant flow of new directives to air carriers.
Transport Canada hasn’t called for flights crews to receive
additional anti-hijacking training, nor has it asked that cockpits
be modified to better deny access to terrorists.
But airline officials say they’ll comply with any rules
that come down.
“I would expect they’re reviewing everything,”
Beeman said. “Any regulations they put through, we will abide
by.”
Despite the chaos of the past week, both First Air and Canadian
North report that their operations have returned to normal. They’re
still providing the full service they offered before the terrorist
attack, and say they aren’t suffering unusual delays.
“Things are pretty well back to normal, except for increased
security for passengers,” Beeman said. “Our flights
went back to normal pretty quickly.”
|