U.S. DEMANDS passenger lists for sun flights

[babylonsister]

U.S. demands passenger lists for sun flights

BRENT JANG

From Thursday's Globe and Mail

October 11, 2007 at 1:05 AM EDT

The U.S. government has angered Canada's airlines with a proposal to order them to hand over personal information about passengers who take flights that go south over U.S. airspace en route to sunny destinations.

Although the planes wouldn't take off from or land on American soil, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is proposing that Canadian carriers send passenger manifests up to 72 hours in advance of departures to popular winter escapes such as Mexico and the Caribbean.

Under the U.S. Secure Flight program, there would be the same requirement to transmit data on northbound return flights from foreign holiday destinations.

The broader goal is to “prevent certain known or suspected terrorists from boarding aircraft where they may jeopardize the lives of passengers and others,” Homeland Security's Transportation Security Agency said in its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.

The deadline to file comments on the proposal is Oct. 22, and the Air Transport Association of Canada is gearing up to voice its outrage on behalf of Canadian airlines.

more...

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071011.airspace11/BNStory/National

[Horse with no Name]

1. It's time someone starts putting their foot down at this fucking administration

DEMANDING shit from other countries.

[babylonsister]

2. I think Canada is about to voice their outrage, and I cannot blame them.

'We' have some nerve; we're the big bully on the block.

[Horse with no Name]

3. It's embarrassing.

:(

[MADem]

6. Nope--they're gonna cave in and agree. At least that's what they said on TV last night. NT

[babylonsister]

9. So discouraging; I hope the Canadians voice their displeasure. nt

[MADem]

10. I was watching Canadian news last night

With the exception of one pissed-off woman whose main concerns were her personal privacy and her VISA card details, the rest of the sheep sounded very GOP--"Oh, since 911 we must cooperate" and "We do what we must to stop the 'terrists' from winning..."

It WAS discouraging. And those were Canadian PASSENGERS. The conservative government suckups were even worse.

I thought I'd somehow switched channels and was watching RNCTV.

[bdamomma]

8. I wish someone would just slap the * regime down.

bullies indeed.

[Ezlivin]

4. Why doesn't the US demand to know why nuclear weapons flew over the states?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x313002

[Zywiec]

7. Because they already know the answer. n/t

[MADem]

5. Canadian government will CAVE and agree. No matter what the airlines say.

The Conservative government enjoys good relations with Homeland Security's Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and there's room to refine what flights may be affected, he said Thursday.

“We're working with the Americans to make sure we comply with a reasonable amount of accommodation,” Mr. Cannon said. “We're working extensively with them to give them our comments and make sure that our concerns are well viewed.”

Ujjal Dosanjh, Liberal public safety critic, said the Tories are making “dismal” suggestions that will have only a modest impact on the TSA's aggressive plans. Canada should assert its sovereignty and rip up the TSA's proposal, he said. ... But Mr. Cannon said he prefers to maintain a conciliatory tone with the Americans, rejecting opposition calls to take a much tougher stand against Washington. “Our economy strongly depends on what we do with the United States, and Mr. Dosanjh is out in left field,” Mr. Cannon said. “Our objective is to work with the Americans. I don't want to question their legitimacy.”

He pointed out that flights between two Canadian cities, such as Toronto-Vancouver, that cross briefly into U.S. airspace already have been exempted from the U.S. Secure Flight program. Such domestic trips account for 75 per cent of flights by Canadian carriers that go over U.S. airspace.

The controversy focuses on the remaining 25 per cent of “overflights,” which cross U.S. airspace for long stretches, notably trips between Canada and foreign sun destinations.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071012.airspace12/BNStory/National/?page=rss&id=RTGAM.20071012.airspace12

They're after Americans flying to CUBA, of course. The recourse, then, is to fly to Jamaica, and book a flight to Cuba from Kingston once one gets there.

On CBC TV last night, the attitude presented was "It's their airspace, they can demand what they will." Not too encouraging.

I suppose if the Canadian airlines were willing to burn fuel going AROUND there wouldn't be this issue.

Of course, the US and Canada have a Joint No-Fly List of sorts--they use ours, and we use theirs.