OTTAWA – Canadians flying to the United States through major airports will soon be able to use trusted-traveller cards to speed up their journeys.
The Transport Department says passengers can use Nexus cards – which provide access to expedited screening lanes – starting in February.
Airports in Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver will offer the service.
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Currently there are Nexus lines only at domestic and some international checkpoints.
The measure flows from the Canada-U.S. perimeter security plan announced two weeks ago.
The government also plans to install new explosive-detection machines in selected Canadian airports by March 2015 – a move intended to make many U.S. flight connections easier.
Because Canada lacks the U.S.-approved machines, many passengers get tripped up by an American rule that all bags destined for a domestic destination be screened with the special devices.
So when a traveller flies from Toronto to Atlanta to catch a connecting flight to another U.S. city, their bags must be pulled out and rescreened.
Transport could not immediately say how much the new screening machines will cost.
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