Two days after the baggage drop-off for departing passengers at Prince George Airport was returned to working order, the facility is back to manual screenings and potential delays, according to a Friday, Aug. 1 media release.
“The Prince George Airport Authority (PGAA) advises that checked baggage screening at the airport is currently being conducted manually by the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) due to a temporary disruption in the automated screening system,” the release said.
“Passengers departing from YXS may experience delays at baggage drop during this time. This is a new disruption, unrelated to last week’s outage. The automated system was restored on July 30, but a separate technical issue has now occurred.”
The release added that these kinds of disruptions can be especially challenging for people with accessibility needs and recommended that these passengers identify themselves to airport staff for assistance.
The airport authority said no representatives were available for further comment due to the BC Day long weekend.
As reported by The Citizen on July 31, a fault in the CT and x-ray machine that screens luggage destined to be loaded onto flights meant that CATSA personnel had to manually search all bags between July 22 and 30.
The airport also announced on July 31 that construction on Ellis and Sintich roads starting on Aug. 8 could cause delays of up to 15 minutes for motorists heading to the airport, with single lane alternative traffic in place for up to two weeks.
