From: Jeff Shultz 

Well, you won't get away from them flying Canadian: (wish I had a URL)

MONTREAL (Reuters) - While some airline groups object to a new U.S. demand that
foreign carriers place armed marshals on certain flights to and from the United
States, undercover police from neighbouring Canada have been blending in with
air travelers for more than two years.

The Canadian program began in October 2001 when U.S. authorities required
airlines flying into Washington's Reagan International Airport to post
armed guards on the flights. That duty was taken up by the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police.

The program has since been widened to cover flights to other destinations.

"It's on selective domestic, international and transborder flights. It's done
on a risk-threat basis," said Peter Coyles, a spokesman for Transport Canada.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said its new air marshal directive
went into effect Sunday under emergency amendments to federal aviation
regulations.

The department ordered the additional security on aircraft flying to, from and
over the United States, citing increased security concerns.

The International Air Transport Association, which groups about 95 percent of
airlines operating international flights, and the British Airline Pilots
Association said they were opposed to the measure. But Britain said armed
sky
marshals would fly on certain flights.

Current Canadian measures are part of a multibillion-dollar program to improve
aviation security in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United
States by hijacked airliners, which killed about 3,000 people at the World
Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington.

Since then, some security experts have pointed to Canada as a possible launch
point for other airliner attacks on the United States, with fuel-laden jets
regularly departing Canadian cities for U.S. or Caribbean destinations.

All of the Sept. 11 aircraft were domestic U.S. flights and none of the
hijackers was connected to Canada.

Canada, which holds its transportation system as one of the safest and most
secure in the world, will not discuss staffing levels for its contingent of
flying Mounties.

Air Canada, the country's biggest airline and world No. 11, declined to detail
its precautions.

"Understandably,  we do not discuss specific security measures on our flights,
or how they may be adjusted periodically, as this could compromise the
effectiveness of those measures," the Montreal-based airline said in a
statement.

Other carriers with international flights include Calgary's WestJet
Airlines Ltd. and Transat AT Inc.'s Air Transat.

Canadian authorities say their security measures remain linked to steps being
taken in the United States.

"We work continue to work co-operatively with U.S. counterparts to
make sure the system is as secure and as safe as possible for both sides of
the border,"
said Transport Canada's Coyles.

As part of the tightened security, Ottawa created the Canadian Air
Transport Security Authority and, working with the Mounties, established
counterparts to
the U.S. air marshals.

Canada also began installing explosive-detection systems at airports to screen
baggage and reinforced cockpit doors on passenger aircraft.

01/02/04 12:37 ET

John Beamish wrote:

> Fair comment -- but it doesn't ease my mind.    (BTW, I believe that there
> were sky marshalls well before September 11 but that their numbers had
> been significantly reduced.)
>
> "Jeff Shultz"  wrote in message
> news:3ff23360{at}w3.nls.net...
>> John Beamish wrote:
>>
>> > One of the advantages of being unemployed is that I don't travel as
>> > much as
>> > I did -- vacation or business -- in the US.  When I was travelling
> to/from
>> > the US I invariably tried to fly a Canadian airline in the desperate
> hope
>> > that it wouldn't be carrying a sky marshall.
>>
>> Okay... we've been flying with sky marshal's since slightly after Sept
>> 11, 2001... has there been a single weapon discharged yet?
>>
>> Heck, has there been anything inappropriate happen?
>>
>> --
>> Jeff Shultz

--
Jeff Shultz

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