Canadian Airline Group Protests New Security Surcharge

The British Columbia Aviation Council (BCAC) is raising significant groundswell support in its efforts to have short-haul commuter flights excluded from the new security ticket surcharge that the Canadian government unveiled recently.

BCAC President Gerald Lloyd has written to the Canadian and B.C. ministers of transport and finance to protest the fee. Lloyd said that many local mayors and community groups "are beginning to flood the minister of transport" with similar letters denouncing the surcharge.

Lloyd wants short-haul commuter flights to be excluded from the fee. Since the surcharge is not scheduled to come into force until April 2002, this gives BCAC and other airline groups "lots of lobbying time," Lloyd said.

The text of the letter is as follows: "The British Columbia Aviation Council is very concerned about the introduction of the $24 security costs scheduled for the spring of 2002. The small coastal air operators and those who serve the small northern communities will lose customers with the introduction of this fee.

"These additional charges will divert passengers to the ferry system in coastal communities and those in our northern communities will not fly. The members of the British Columbia Aviation Council would like some assurances that these fees will only be assessed on international, cross-border and travel across Canada.

"All the small air carriers in British Columbia seek your support to exempt them from this new fee." >TK America West Airlines [AWA]: Vanguard Airlines [VNGD]: America West Airlines [AWA]:........