Canadian Government to take over responsibility of screening pax against SATA list

Public Safety Canada announced (04-Nov-2020) the following final provisions to the Secure Air Travel Regulations:

• Government to take the over responsibility from air carriers of screening travellers against the Secure Air Travel Act (SATA), via a new centralised screening system. The Government will also collect additional information, with date of birth and gender to ensure more effective screening;
• Canadian Travel Number to be issued to travellers, so as to prevent check in delays for people with the same or similar names as those on the SATA list. The number is unique and can be used at the time of booking to distinguish passengers from those on the SATA list;
• Centralised screening system to provide an automatic check of travellers against the SATA list up to 72 hours before takeoff, so as to allow time for any potential issues;
• Automated IT system to provide air security screening in advance, so as to reduce potential bias.

The Canadian Travel Number is to be launched on the Public Safety website within two weeks, which will allow passengers to apply in advance of carriers transferring to the centralised screening system from late Nov-2020. [more - original PR] [more - original PR - II]