OTTAWA — The federal Public Safety Department has rejected Air Canada's request for regular access to security risk assessments, something the airline wanted in order to play a bigger role in passenger safety.
The air carrier has expressed concern to the federal government about accommodating sky marshals on its flights, often at significant cost.
In a submission to a federal review panel, Air Canada said if a marshal requests a specific seat, it must be provided even if it has been sold to a passenger.
It recommended the RCMP share all data regarding risk assessments for individual flights with airlines, allowing carriers to make educated judgments about whether to cancel a flight.
Air Canada also wants the government to generally focus the sky marshal program only on flights that have a pre-agreed level of risk.
Public Safety spokeswoman Josee Sirois says details of risk assessments cannot be shared due to security reasons.
