"Officials find man who carried knife past security at Montreal airport"

Sunday, August 19, 2007

'Weapon' paralyzes airport
BY AMY LUFT
Canada - The Montreal Gazette


As many as 8,000 international travellers were stuck for more than three
hours at Dorval's Pierre Elliott Trudeau airport yesterday after flights
were grounded when security staff found what they believed to be a knife in
a passenger's backpack.

The ''weapon'' in question turned out to be a small multi-purpose tool.

The incident serves as a reminder to keep security issues in mind when
packing carry-on luggage, said Anna Karina Trabunar from the Canadian Air
Transport Security Authority.

Even if it's an innocent item, done without intention, as this seems to be
the case, it is still considered a prohibited item, and this is the result,"
she said.

A man passed through a security checkpoint on his way to an international
flight about 5:50 p.m. Security personnel saw what they thought was a Swiss
Army knife in his bag.

"We're not exactly sure how it happened, but he was able to leave (the
security checkpoint) with his backpack," said Montreal police Constable
Lynne Labelle.

Security staff immediately halted all international flights, leaving about
20 planes grounded while they checked the carry-on baggage of each
passenger. The search lasted until 9:15 p.m., when flights resumed.

The security personnel eventually found the man and discovered he did not
have a knife, but a multi-function tool.

The man was questioned by airport security last night. It is believed he did
not intend to cause harm and had the tool in his backpack by accident,
Labelle said.

A list of items prohibited on airplanes is available at
www.catsa-acsta.gc.ca.

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