Operations at Prince George Airport are back to normal for passengers boarding their flights after a broken checked-luggage screening device was repaired, a spokesperson tells The Citizen.
On July 22, the airport put out a note on social media saying that the baggage belt system, including the CTX machine that scans checked luggage for hazards, was out of service.
That meant that Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) personnel had to carry out hand-searches of bags, making the check-in process longer than normal.
In a phone interview on Thursday, July 31, the Prince George Airport Authority’s manager of marketing and air service development Chrissy Blok said that CATSA sent parts for the airport’s technician to install but they turned out to be defective.
After that, she said, CATSA sent their own technician to Prince George to work on the problem and the airport’s new president and CEO Geoff Ritchie ordered them to remain on-site until the machine was in working order.
Ritchie assumed the role on July 2, succeeding Gordon Duke, who retired at the end of 2024.
Finally, the machine was returned to service on Wednesday, July 31.
“There’s a sense of relief,” Blok said.
“And I think there’s optimism around here that this situation that we found ourselves in has the potential to be resolved (permanently). We as a team also have a better sense on how to handle this if it does happen again. We’re working together with our airline partners, our CATSA partners at what we can do together if this does happen again, how we can support passengers better, how we can make the experience easier.”
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