Transat in the news
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Transat in the news
Father's name on U.S. no-fly list
Fighter jets follow Air Transat flight
Jan. 7, 2006. 01:33 PM
MICHELLE SHEPHARD
IN TORONTO
TIM HARPER
IN WASHINGTON
U.S. fighter jets shadowed an Air Transat flight from Toronto to Mexico this week, following a passenger from Mississauga who was eventually detained upon landing and forced to spend a night in a Mexican jail because his name appears on an American no-fly list.
Mexican authorities pulled Sami Kahil, a Canadian citizen, off an Air Transat flight on Thursday after denying him entry to Ixtapa, Mexico. He was travelling for an all-inclusive vacation to Ixtapa with his wife and two young children.
His family was sent back to Toronto but he was told he could not board the same flight because U.S. authorities would not allow the plane to travel over American airspace, his wife Rima Masri said in an interview yesterday.
Masri said officials with Canada's foreign affairs department told her last night that two RCMP officers would accompany Kahil, 38, home on a private Air Transat flight, which was scheduled to arrive back in Toronto at 2:30 this morning.
An Air Transat spokesperson confirmed yesterday that the airline was told by the U.S.'s Transport Security Administration that Kahil's name appeared on a watch list and the flight was not cleared to travel over the U.S. with Kahil on board. The flight was en route to Mexico when they were notified.
NORAD then provided both air and ground monitoring of the flight, Mike Kucharek, NORAD chief of media relations, told the Toronto Star last night. That means either F-15s or F-16s accompanied the flight while over U.S. airspace.
Since the crew was not permitted to work the extra hours required to fly a circuitous route back to Canada that didn't fly over the U.S., Kahil was taken into custody, Air Transat spokesperson Sophie Lussier said yesterday.
What's not clear is why a passenger list was given by the airline to American authorities, since U.S. legislation enacted after 9/11 requires airlines to provide passenger lists only if a flight is destined for the U.S.
The U.S. "no-fly list" has been frequently criticized for cases of mistaken identity. Innocent passengers have been snared because of similarities to names on the list or because names have been misspelled. Among those who have been barred in the United States are veteran Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy, John Lewis, a Democratic congressman from Georgia, and the son of Canadian Senator Colin Kenny, who has chaired the Canadian Senate's security committee.
"The name Sami Kahil is like saying Joe Blow or John Smith. They've got the wrong guy," his exasperated wife said.
Mississauga neighbour Renata Meze was equally dismayed. "Knowing him the way we've known him, this comes as a great shock. He's always been a great neighbour and a good friend. It has to be a mistake."
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`The name Sami Kahil is like saying Joe Blow or John Smith. They've got the wrong guy'
Rima Masri, his wife
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But the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said yesterday there was no question that Kahil's name should have appeared on the list. "This is an excellent example of the information sharing that we need with good allies," said spokesperson Brian Doyle.
"I can assure you that if your name is on a U.S. no-fly list, it is not put there in any willy-nilly fashion. This is not a case of mistaken identity."
Masri said her husband, a shoe store owner, had travelled to the U.S. without incident many times since the U.S. expanded its watch list after the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Born in Lebanon, Kahil has lived in Canada for more than 20 years and travels on his Canadian passport.
Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Réjean Beaulieu said yesterday afternoon that the government did not know why Kahil was being held in Mexico, but he confirmed that Kahil met with consular officials during his detention and was not charged. Beaulieu would not say if Canadian security or police services were interested in speaking with Kahil upon his return.
There's also the potential that Kahil's name has been connected by security services to another Canadian, who was once under investigation and detained abroad in 2004. An associate of Kahil's at the Mississauga shoe store knows Iraqi-Canadian Muayyed Nureddin, who now imports shoes to China, according to Masri.
Nureddin spent a month in a Damascus jail without being charged and is now suing the Canadian government for allegedly passing information to Syrian authorities, which he believes led to his wrongful imprisonment.
Kahil's involvement with authorities began Thursday morning when he left with Masri and their sons, aged 6 and 8, from Toronto's Pearson International Airport. When they arrived for a stopover in Acapulco, Masri says her family was separated from other passengers and questioned for two hours while the plane remained on the tarmac.
"There were police officers surrounding us. They were asking where were we this time and that time and where had we travelled. When my kids had to go to the washroom a woman had to go with us," Masri said.
They were allowed to re-board, but when they arrived in Ixtapa they were told they could not get off the plane, but had to return to Toronto after new passengers boarded.
Before takeoff, Masri says the captain announced there was someone on the flight who was "an international risk and the U.S. government does not want us to fly directly on their air space."
"I didn't know if I should cry or laugh. It was a joke. Everybody knew it was us. Everybody knew, it was horrible," Masri said in an interview yesterday.
Shortly after that announcement she said her husband was escorted off the plane by armed Mexican authorities. Masri and her children were sent home.
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Re: Transat in the news
Originally Posted by armada
The flight was en route to Mexico when they were notified.
NORAD then provided both air and ground monitoring of the flight, Mike Kucharek, NORAD chief of media relations, told the Toronto Star last night. That means either F-15s or F-16s accompanied the flight while over U.S. airspace.
Since the crew was not permitted to work the extra hours required to fly a circuitous route back to Canada that didn't fly over the U.S., Kahil was taken into custody, Air Transat spokesperson Sophie Lussier said yesterday.
What's not clear is why a passenger list was given by the airline to American authorities, since U.S. legislation enacted after 9/11 requires airlines to provide passenger lists only if a flight is destined for the U.S.
The U.S. "no-fly list" has been frequently criticized for cases of mistaken identity. Innocent passengers have been snared because of similarities to names on the list or because names have been misspelled. Among those who have been barred in the United States are veteran Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy, John Lewis, a Democratic congressman from Georgia, and the son of Canadian Senator Colin Kenny, who has chaired the Canadian Senate's security committee.
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Re: Transat in the news
I was told that since the end of 2004, any airline flying over the US even if it's not their final destination, has to provide, 15 min after take-off, the passenger's list.
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Re: Transat in the news
Originally Posted by TSN
I was told that since the end of 2004, any airline flying over the US even if it's not their final destination, has to provide, 15 min after take-off, the passenger's list.
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Re: Transat in the news
Since YYZ-YHZ flights for instance pass into US airspace, if the US denied entry to airspace without a pax list things would get hairy for "internal" flying here.
It is vital we find out how this went down.
It is vital we find out how this went down.
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Re: Transat in the news
Would all of the Americans on their way to Cuba from Toronto (better and cheaper than DR) like to be informed that the Canadians are "ratting them out".
Is this passenger list reporting for overflights mandatory, or is AT doing it to be "helpful", or did they do it by accident?
It would be interesting to find out.
Is this passenger list reporting for overflights mandatory, or is AT doing it to be "helpful", or did they do it by accident?
It would be interesting to find out.
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Re: Transat in the news
Originally Posted by Newforest
You may be right, the last I heard was that Canada had refused. But surely '15 mins after take-off is shutting the stable door after the horses have gone?'
Notice where it says that data will be shared with American and British security officials
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Re: Transat in the news
Originally Posted by Rosbif
Would all of the Americans on their way to Cuba from Toronto (better and cheaper than DR) like to be informed that the Canadians are "ratting them out".
Is this passenger list reporting for overflights mandatory, or is AT doing it to be "helpful", or did they do it by accident?
It would be interesting to find out.
Is this passenger list reporting for overflights mandatory, or is AT doing it to be "helpful", or did they do it by accident?
It would be interesting to find out.
In regards to Americans travelling to Cuba, it was quite common that US Customs/Immigration in YYZ and other places would videotape the passengers arriving from Cuba. Ostensibly to find Americans travelling there in spite of the official restrictions.
