Sealy lauds response to Air Canada disturbance, says more to be done

IN lauding the response of emergency personnel to the disturbance created on an Air Canada flight to Barbados two weeks ago, Minister of Tourism and International Transport, Richard Sealy, said there is still work to be done.

On the five and a half hour flight from Toronto, a 66-year old man triggered a security alarm by claiming connections with ISIS and threatening to blow up the plane, which was carrying 113 other persons. He was restrained by passengers and flight attendants, before the plane touched down and passengers were delayed on the tarmac of the Grantley Adams International Airport for more than two hours after landing.

“We were fortunate that it was a disruptive passenger and not a terrorist scenario. Having said that, we were able to see our security elements function, in terms of the correct protocol, including how and where the aircraft was parked and the deplaning exercise,” Sealy said yesterday in Parliament.

However, he admitted there was still some “tidying up” to do.

“This was a 65-year-old man that was diminutive. Obviously flight attendants and a few passengers could restrain him, but clearly if it was a genuine security situation with a group of people, fresh from an ISIS training camp, I don’t think no six flight attendants could restrain them.

“So I think that we need to learn from it and accept that we are in a different climate altogether, and accept these possibilities.

“But having said that, the co-ordination from the report I read of the Defence Force, the police and the airport officials, it worked well, but we are still going to make sure that it is above and beyond any reproach at all, and we can deal with these situations.

“We are living in different times, and we need to be aware of these realities,” he argued. (JMB)

Barbados Advocate

Mailing Address:
Advocate Publishers (2000) Inc
Fontabelle, St. Michael, Barbados

Phone: (246) 467-2000
Fax: (246) 434-2020 / (246) 434-1000