Safe Travels video
The world has changed since COVID-19 and to ensure you feel safe and secure CATSA has made some changes at the checkpoint.
All passengers must wear a face covering before entering the screening checkpoint.
Following the markers on the floor throughout the checkpoint will help you to stay at least 2 metres apart from others.
You can sanitize your hands using the extra hand sanitizer dispensers in the checkpoint. And, you can bring one bottle of hand sanitizer up to 355 ml in your carry-on in addition to your other 100 ml containers of liquids, aerosols and gels.
To help limit contact you can scan your own boarding pass.
And, remember to place small electronics and loose items in your carry-on or purse instead of in a bin.
If there’s an alarm, you’ll be asked to re-divest your items first in order to reduce the need for a physical search.
If you do need a physical search, rest assured that at all times screening officers wear gloves and face coverings and some wear face shields. Gloves are changed before every physical pat-down or bag search.
If your hands or items must be swabbed, the swabs are also changed with each use.
Finally, we have enhanced cleaning procedures throughout the checkpoint, including increased bin-cleaning and the use of strong anti-viral cleaning products.
CATSA’s priority is to ensure that passengers and all others working in and travelling through Canadian airports do so as safely and securely as possible.
For more information about our COVID 19 measures, please visit our website, download our app or find us on Facebook or Twitter.
Safe travels! (Screening Officer on camera)
The Walk-through Metal Detector video
Metal items like coins, keys and even gum wrappers can set it off.
You may be asked to unbuckle your belt for the screening officer to inspect.
You may be asked to remove your footwear. Construction boots and high-heeled shoes can contain metal shanks.
Breeze through security.
Travelling with Duty-free Purchases video
Duty-free items, along with the receipt...must be sealed in an official security bag.
(Shows bag marked "Do not open until final destination and security features which include checkmark and arrow in a circle)
Breeze through security.
Family Travel video
Family vacation? Look for the Family/Special Needs Lane.
Breeze through security.
Security Screening Tips Video
Sound of marker or thick pen on white board or paper
All passengers must go through airport security. Here are some tips to help you get through like a pro.
Give yourself plenty of time to go through security and have your boarding pass ready to present to a screening officer.
Families or passengers with special needs who need a little more time can take advantage of the dedicated Family\Special Needs line.
To avoid alarming remove metal objects like keys and spare change from your pockets. Put them in your coat or carry-on bag before passing through.
Cell phones, tablets and other electronics can stay in your carry-on.
If you have a laptop take it out of the case and put it in a bin.
Your clear plastic re-sealable bag of liquids, aerosols and gels, your coat and your purse also go in the bin.
Avoid wearing clothes with metal snaps and buttons, belts with metal buckles, steel-toed shoes or shoes with metal arches or shanks.
Following these tips can save you time during screening.
You may be required to undergo additional screening. If so, you have a choice between the Full Body Scanner or a physical search
For more information visit the CATSA website at www.catsa.gc.ca.
Packing Tips Video
Sound of marker or thick pen on white board or paper
Travelling by plane?
Here are some tips to help you get through airport security like a pro
When you’re packing your carry-on bag make sure that all liquids, aerosols and gels like shampoo, toothpaste and creams as well as foods like peanut butter are in travel size containers that are 100 milliliters or less.
Together all these containers should fit into one 1 L clear plastic re-sealable bag.
If you are a nursing mother or travelling with children under the age of two you can bring milk, formula, juice and baby food, just make sure you pack so items are accessible to show the screening officers.
Medications and prescription drugs can stay in the same containers they came in. Just make sure they are packed so they can be easily removed for inspection.
Laptop computers, video and film cameras should also be packed so they can be easily removed.
If you’re not sure what you can bring with you visit the CATSA website at www.catsa.gc.ca
CATSA Plus Video
The CATSA Plus screening initiative includes modern, high-performance security screening lines with processes and innovative technologies designed to enhance security, improve passenger flow and transform the customer experience.
The full CATSA Plus checkpoint is designed to include:
- eGates and Tracking Sensors at some airports
- Parallel divest stations
- Positive bin tracking and continuous x-ray belt
- Remote x-ray image review
- A motorized bag diverter with split lanes
- A motorized bin return
and
- An improved repack area
eGates installed at the entrance of some checkpoints will automatically validate boarding passes and inform passengers of the next available screening line.
In order to best serve families and passengers with special needs, a Screening Officer will be positioned at Assisted Entry Points to facilitate validation and access to the checkpoint.
A network of tracking sensors in the ceiling anonymously tracks passenger movements in the queue and within the checkpoint, thereby reducing the number of times a boarding pass is scanned. Information from the sensors is integrated with CATSA’s BPSS and automatically calculates wait times and throughput.
Parallel divest stations allow multiple passengers to divest simultaneously and ensure a continuous flow of bins to the x-ray. Experienced travellers who divest more quickly can bypass less experienced or slower passengers. Overall, the effect is increased flow through the checkpoint with an enhanced passenger experience.
Motorized roller sections generate accurate bin spacing before entering the x-ray facilitating the flow of bins through the system. A photo is taken of each bin before entering the x-ray. The photo in addition to the x-ray image enables rapid identification of items that require a search.
RFID tags are attached to each bin. Bins are tracked through the system and the motorized bag diverter ensures that cleared bins are separated from those that require a search.
A remote screening room allows screening officers to perform x-ray image analysis in a quiet area away from distractions at the checkpoint.
Remote x-ray workstations display two x-ray views and the photo of each bin. The workstations include image analysis and image annotation features on an easy-to-use touch screen.
All x-rays, remote x-ray workstations and search workstations are connected on a locally networked system that distributes x-ray images to the first available workstation. This significantly improves x-ray processing capabilities and allows the x-ray to operate in a continuous screening mode.
A continuous belt addresses one of the key bottlenecks in the screening process—the x-ray—and allows for the constant flow of items through the machine.
The image analysis zone is a motorized roller section from the x-ray to the diverter that preserves security effectiveness by providing screeners with sufficient time to analyze each image. The diverter moves bins rejected by the x-ray operator, or bins with operator timeout, to the “Search” lane. This automates the care and control of bins requiring additional screening and positive tracking of the bin through the entire screening process.
The search work station with the addition of the RFID allows the Screening Officer to recall the image associated to the bin and conduct additional screening. The work station also displays additional information to the Search Officer added by the Screening Officer in the remote screening room. Providing enhanced tools to Screening Officers will enable them to more effectively perform their duties with greater care and control.
A motorized bin return simplifies the process of returning empty bins to the divest stations. A unit at the end of the clear line lowers bins to the bin return system and motorized rollers passing under the x-ray return bins to the divest area.
An enhanced repack zone allows more passengers to repack at the same time. It consists of additional tables and benches that are not assigned to a specific screening line. Passengers can take additional time to repack without feeling pressure from other passengers to move quickly. And, by moving passengers away from the screening line, bottlenecks are reduced allowing more bins to flow through.
CATSA Plus is modular and can be assembled into “Full” and “Tailored” packages adaptable to different airport environments, depending on checkpoint size, space, and passenger volumes.
Our goal is to have CATSA Plus at all major airports in Canada in the future.