Close X
Saturday, December 14, 2024
ADVT 
National

Info About Unruly Passengers Should Be Shared To Help Keep The Skies Safer: Air Canada

Darpan News Desk, 17 Feb, 2016 12:58 PM
  • Info About Unruly Passengers Should Be Shared To Help Keep The Skies Safer: Air Canada
OTTAWA — Air carriers should be allowed to share information about unruly passengers to help keep the skies safer, Canada's largest airline says.
 
A carrier can ban people with a history of disruptive behaviour from taking further flights with that airline, Air Canada notes in a submission to the federal government.
 
But legislation does not permit airlines to exchange information about passengers, even when they believe them to be a safety risk to others.
 
In the submission to a federal review of the Canada Transportation Act, Air Canada says safety "should always be first and foremost."
 
A report flowing from the review — likely to include some recommendations about air safety — is expected to be made public in coming weeks.
 
An Alberta man was charged in late December after a flight attendant was injured on an Air Canada flight to India. The plane had to turn around and head back to Toronto, where it was met by police.
 
World airlines reported 9,316 cases of unruly behaviour in the skies in 2014 — or one incident for every 1,289 flights, according to the International Air Transport Association, an industry group.
 
 
That same year, more than 100 members of the Montreal-based International Civil Aviation Organization, a United Nations agency, adopted a new protocol that would extend jurisdiction over an offence involving an unruly passenger to the destination country, not just the country of aircraft registration.
 
If the protocol is ratified, this measure would close a loophole that has allowed many serious offences to escape legal action, the air transport association says.
 
The civil aviation organization has provided airlines with a four-tiered scheme of threat levels to help gauge the seriousness of a disruptive passenger:
 
— Level One — Disruptive behaviour (verbal);
 
— Level Two — Physically abusive behaviour;
 
— Level Three — Life-threatening behaviour (or display of a weapon);
 
— Level Four — Attempted or actual breach of the flight crew compartment.
 
Air Canada says carriers should be allowed to share information with other carriers about travellers involved in Level Three or Four incidents.
 
"This practice would help to ensure the safety of other passengers and the safe operation of the flight, as well as reduce costs associated with returning passengers with a history of disruptive behaviour," the airline's submission says. 
 
Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick said Monday the airline had no additional comment.
 
The federal privacy commissioner's office said it was unaware of Air Canada's sharing proposal, had not studied the issue and could provide no comment at this time.

MORE National ARTICLES

Alberta Battling Ezra Levant's Online News Outlet Over Legislature Access

Alberta Battling Ezra Levant's Online News Outlet Over Legislature Access
The Alberta government is battling an online news outlet over access to the legislature and has asked a recently retired journalist to review its media policy.

Alberta Battling Ezra Levant's Online News Outlet Over Legislature Access

New Brunswick Judge To Decide Today Whether To Grant Dennis Oland Bail

New Brunswick Judge To Decide Today Whether To Grant Dennis Oland Bail
Dennis Oland will learn today if he'll walk out of a Fredericton courthouse free on bail, or go to prison to await the appeal of his second-degree murder conviction.

New Brunswick Judge To Decide Today Whether To Grant Dennis Oland Bail

Second Foot Washed Up In B.C. Confirmed To Be Human

Second Foot Washed Up In B.C. Confirmed To Be Human
The first foot was found by a hiker on Feb. 7 and a second running shoe containing a foot was found last Friday.

Second Foot Washed Up In B.C. Confirmed To Be Human

Daughter Of B.C. Man Fatally Shot By Police Tells Inquest She Could Have Helped

Daughter Of B.C. Man Fatally Shot By Police Tells Inquest She Could Have Helped
Nousha Bayrami told a coroner's inquest on Tuesday her father, Mehrdad Bayrami, 48, had been on medication for severe depression prior to the armed standoff that led to his death in November 2012.

Daughter Of B.C. Man Fatally Shot By Police Tells Inquest She Could Have Helped

HIGHLIGHTS: B.C. Delivers 4th Balanced Budget, Drops Home Tax To Stimulate Building

HIGHLIGHTS: B.C. Delivers 4th Balanced Budget, Drops Home Tax To Stimulate Building
Finance Minister Mike de Jong tabled B.C.'s fourth consecutive balanced budget, posting a surplus of $264 million.

HIGHLIGHTS: B.C. Delivers 4th Balanced Budget, Drops Home Tax To Stimulate Building

TD Bank Standoff Ends As Surrey Police Arrest A Male Suspect Without Incident

TD Bank Standoff Ends As Surrey Police Arrest A Male Suspect Without Incident
The man appeared to be in his 20s or 30s, was wearing a blue plaid shirt and came out with his head down. A crowd gathered at a nearby intersection applauded.

TD Bank Standoff Ends As Surrey Police Arrest A Male Suspect Without Incident