CATSA nonsense

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Redwine
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CATSA nonsense

Post by Redwine »

Who do I write to complain about treatment of aircrew, (specifically flight crew), who are operating and in possession of a security pass.
I have noticed in particular- smaller airports, are extremely thorough in their processing of passengers and crew members.
It looks absolutely ridiculous seeing a flight crew member being wanded down with arms stretched out to either side in full view of many passengers. It makes a complete mockery of our profession.....After this public parody is complete we have complete access and control of the very thing they are trying to prevent access to in case they find some sort of weapon in our belongings???
I’m just getting sick of this idiocy.
Crew members unite and take a stand against this shit.
Let’s get something like known crew member etc.
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...Seems they are going to remove the axe and the control column from the cockpits for security reasons.
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Chaxterium
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Re: CATSA nonsense

Post by Chaxterium »

KCM would be fantastic but apparently even that is going down the drain. Some schmuck decided to try and smuggle something in to the airport so now you have to be in full uniform the use KCM privileges,

That said, if you think there's anything we can do, I'm all ears.
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mato
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Re: CATSA nonsense

Post by mato »

You can thank Marc Garneau for this, and he has no plan to make any changes. You would think we would have something like the U. S. KCM, not if he has any say in it.
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digits_
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Re: CATSA nonsense

Post by digits_ »

Redwine wrote: Tue Oct 01, 2019 12:58 pm Who do I write to complain about treatment of aircrew, (specifically flight crew), who are operating and in possession of a security pass.
I have noticed in particular- smaller airports, are extremely thorough in their processing of passengers and crew members.
It looks absolutely ridiculous seeing a flight crew member being wanded down with arms stretched out to either side in full view of many passengers. It makes a complete mockery of our profession.....After this public parody is complete we have complete access and control of the very thing they are trying to prevent access to in case they find some sort of weapon in our belongings???
I’m just getting sick of this idiocy.
Crew members unite and take a stand against this shit.
Let’s get something like known crew member etc.
Why was the pilot in your example wanded down? What set off the metal detector?
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Rowdy
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Re: CATSA nonsense

Post by Rowdy »

digits_ wrote: Tue Oct 01, 2019 1:29 pm
Redwine wrote: Tue Oct 01, 2019 12:58 pm Who do I write to complain about treatment of aircrew, (specifically flight crew), who are operating and in possession of a security pass.
I have noticed in particular- smaller airports, are extremely thorough in their processing of passengers and crew members.
It looks absolutely ridiculous seeing a flight crew member being wanded down with arms stretched out to either side in full view of many passengers. It makes a complete mockery of our profession.....After this public parody is complete we have complete access and control of the very thing they are trying to prevent access to in case they find some sort of weapon in our belongings???
I’m just getting sick of this idiocy.
Crew members unite and take a stand against this shit.
Let’s get something like known crew member etc.
Why was the pilot in your example wanded down? What set off the metal detector?
I have personally been wanded down despite the fact that I did not set of the metal detectors. I made my complaint to their shift manager.

You'd think, with CATSA being a national entity, that they would be consistent from location to location. Yet they are not. Some of the worst offenders are regional airports with no crew bypass..
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schnitzel2k3
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Re: CATSA nonsense

Post by schnitzel2k3 »

Redwine wrote: Tue Oct 01, 2019 12:58 pm Who do I write to complain about treatment of aircrew, (specifically flight crew), who are operating and in possession of a security pass.
I have noticed in particular- smaller airports, are extremely thorough in their processing of passengers and crew members.
It looks absolutely ridiculous seeing a flight crew member being wanded down with arms stretched out to either side in full view of many passengers. It makes a complete mockery of our profession.....After this public parody is complete we have complete access and control of the very thing they are trying to prevent access to in case they find some sort of weapon in our belongings???
I’m just getting sick of this idiocy.
Crew members unite and take a stand against this shit.
Let’s get something like known crew member etc.
You can always switch to corporate :lol: :toimonster:
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mantogasrsrwy
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Re: CATSA nonsense

Post by mantogasrsrwy »

I like it when they make me assume the position. I work the crowd and it makes them look like idiots. I hate having to take my laptop out.
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fish4life
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Re: CATSA nonsense

Post by fish4life »

Or how some damn detectors will be set off by a small piece of metal in the shoe and others aren’t
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Inverted2
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Re: CATSA nonsense

Post by Inverted2 »

A lot of time the detectors go off even if you don’t have any metal. It’s just a randomizer to keep the CATSA monkeys busy.
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digits_
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Re: CATSA nonsense

Post by digits_ »

Inverted2 wrote: Tue Oct 01, 2019 7:22 pm A lot of time the detectors go off even if you don’t have any metal. It’s just a randomizer to keep the CATSA monkeys busy.
I have always been told pilots in uniform were excempt from the randomizer. Must depend on the airport I guess...
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PostmasterGeneral
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Re: CATSA nonsense

Post by PostmasterGeneral »

CATSA is only part of the issue. Keep in mind that at every airport, CATSA subcontracts their work out to a local security firm. (GARDA in YYZ, ASP in YYC, G4S in some other airports) etc.

It’s those organizations that follow their own rules separate from what CATSA mandates, which is why we experience different levels of service depending on the airport. As an example, the last few times I’ve done the bypass in YYC, in uniform, they haven’t let me pass without either seeing a pairing sheet that I was operating a flight, or a boarding pass showing the DH code on it... Seriously? Since when in the actual fack did we have to show that in order to go to work?!

Oh, and your RAIC doesn’t set off the metal detector. They need it in the bucket so that they have “care and control of the RAIC” while you’re being screened in case you refuse or don’t want to participate.
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propfeather
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Re: CATSA nonsense

Post by propfeather »

YZF is particularly painful.
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ogc
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Re: CATSA nonsense

Post by ogc »

Inverted2 wrote: Tue Oct 01, 2019 7:22 pm A lot of time the detectors go off even if you don’t have any metal. It’s just a randomizer to keep the CATSA monkeys busy.
I asked about this. Apparently there is a sensitivity setting some are turned up some are turned down.

I had a pair of shoes that were 50/50 depending on the screening point.
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180
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Re: CATSA nonsense

Post by 180 »

If you have a legitimate complaint about being mistreated going through security, then Contact:

Sandra Maria Alvarez
Supervisor, Client Satisfaction
Superviseure, Satisfaction des clients

Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA)/
Administration canadienne de la sûreté du transport aérien (ACTSA)
Toll free: 1-888-294-2202
fax: 1-866-892-1612
sandra.alvarez@catsa.gc.ca

Next tine you’re going through security, look up and around you. Those cameras aren’t just there for show, they are recording not only video, but voice as well, and everything is stored in a central server in Ottawa.
Sandra has access to the tapes for up to 90 days, so if you have a legitimate complaint, email her directly with your complaint and she can watch, and more importantly hear, everything that went down, and then follow up appropriately. So be careful how you act and what you say during a “situation” because in the follow up she will be able to see if you were legitimately wronged while being completely professional or whether you were acting like a jack-ass.

And as for lunch kits, they absolutely do not need to turn them upside down, (YZF) and if they give you some bullshit line about that being necessary, you are completely within your rights to ask to have your lunch kit manually inspected rather than put upside down through the X-Ray machine.
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North Shore
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Re: CATSA nonsense

Post by North Shore »

So I was thinking about this while I was on a layover at a smaller airport yesterday. I'm not subject to the CATSA rigmarole at my present position, so we parked on the ramp, and marched through the locking gate in the fence next to the FSS, and then around the front of the terminal and through the front door. If I was peeved enough at CATSA, I'd do the same if I were working for an airline, and then bypass them again on the way back the next morning...
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lownslow
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Re: CATSA nonsense

Post by lownslow »

North Shore wrote: Thu Oct 03, 2019 11:16 pm we parked on the ramp, and marched through the locking gate in the fence next to the FSS, and then around the front of the terminal and through the front door. If I was peeved enough at CATSA, I'd do the same if I were working for an airline, and then bypass them again on the way back the next morning...
That totally works and people definitely haven’t lost their jobs over it before...
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Re: CATSA nonsense

Post by rookiepilot »

PostmasterGeneral wrote: Tue Oct 01, 2019 9:04 pm CATSA is only part of the issue. Keep in mind that at every airport, CATSA subcontracts their work out to a local security firm. (GARDA in YYZ, ASP in YYC, G4S in some other airports) etc.
This explains a lot about the brutally poor training I've observed. Total joke compared to other countries.
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GoHomeLeg
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Re: CATSA nonsense

Post by GoHomeLeg »

Everyone stop your whining and complaining. Go through security and act professional and stop being a bunch of cry babies. Just because you're a pilot with a security clearance doesn't mean you're not capable of smuggling in weapons to give it to someone else. That's why we get randomly selected. There have been several instances were crews have been caught smuggling (two Sunwing Mechanics this summer). Do you know what's embarrassing? When grown men make rood sarcastic comments to security personnel. You make pilots look like a bunch of entitled little a-holes. In case you haven't noticed, they also get randomly checked when going through security and they are security. Whinny little pilots. There are worse things in the world to complain about. I've been in this industry since 2007 and a always have pleasant experience with them. I smiled say hello good morning/afternoon and go about day happy. It's not that hard. Try not to be so grumpy all the time. It's an easy concept.
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'97 Tercel
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Re: CATSA nonsense

Post by '97 Tercel »

Hey, quit raining on these important First-World problems!
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altiplano
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Re: CATSA nonsense

Post by altiplano »

GoHomeLeg wrote: Fri Oct 04, 2019 7:31 pm Everyone stop your whining and complaining. Go through security and act professional and stop being a bunch of cry babies. Just because you're a pilot with a security clearance doesn't mean you're not capable of smuggling in weapons to give it to someone else. That's why we get randomly selected. There have been several instances were crews have been caught smuggling (two Sunwing Mechanics this summer). Do you know what's embarrassing? When grown men make rood sarcastic comments to security personnel. You make pilots look like a bunch of entitled little a-holes. In case you haven't noticed, they also get randomly checked when going through security and they are security. Whinny little pilots. There are worse things in the world to complain about. I've been in this industry since 2007 and a always have pleasant experience with them. I smiled say hello good morning/afternoon and go about day happy. It's not that hard. Try not to be so grumpy all the time. It's an easy concept.
*Mechanics" - Actually Aircraft Maintainer Engineers - unless these guys were there to fix the vehicles on the ramp - aren't flight crew.

Additionally, AMEs where I work don't go through CATSA, and they carry things like leathermans and box cutters in their pockets.

Additionally CATSA isn't there to stop "smuggling" or contraband, they are there to give the appearance of screening weapons, and taking your liquids and gels

I don't need to smuggle a weapon... I have an axe waiting for me on the secure side every time I go to work.

Not to mention the fact I'm already driving the airplane.
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Last edited by altiplano on Sat Oct 05, 2019 3:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
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