Travellers to the U.S. being asked to be prepared for longer security waits

By Katie Hartai

HALIFAX – Travellers are being asked to be prepared for potentially longer delays at the security gate if they’re flying to the United States.

As of Wednesday, airline passengers flying from Halifax and the rest of the country will face new “enhanced security measures” that will focus on the screening of passengers’ personal electronic devices.

The additional screening was recently introduced by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security “in light of evaluated intelligence.”

In a travel advisory, Air Canada says the heightened security will affect travellers with personal electronic devices such as tablets and laptops, which will need to be easily accessible for screening with all cases and covers removed.

WestJet has posted similar advice for all passengers travelling from Canada to the U.S. to expect longer wait times and to arrive two hours before their scheduled departure to make sure they don’t miss their flight.

Mathieu Larocque with the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority tells News 95.7 passengers should be prepared.

“They should make sure their devices can be easily removed from their protective case and make sure that their devices are charged because they might be asked to power it up,” Larocque said.

He added the preparation would ensure travellers can move through the security line as fast as possible.

Larocque said CASTA looked at screening operations across Canada on Wednesday morning and there wasn’t much of an increase in waiting times.

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