We don't complain much either, but I'm bemused to get one of these copy-and-paste replies that seems to assume we've never really flown before. :rolleyes:

Ah yes, a classic bedbug letter... :p

Agreed, but I for one appreciate that you expended the time and effort to document your dissatisfaction. ^^

Same thing happened to my ex- flying out of GVA. We flew separately (different airlines because we booked at different times & took best fares available at the time). Third degree at GVA, then pulled aside for Customs secondary at JFK. Particular questions about why she had some articles of my clothing in her bag.

This was pre-9/11.

ICTS
 

I was in England (UK Citizen) back in April for my brothers wedding. Took the whole family; wife, Mother in law and three kids.

We live in Kingston, ON but often use SYR for flights as it close and usually cheaper than CDN airlines.

Upon checking in at Manchester UK for our return flight to PHL on US Airways, an ICTS guy asks for our passports.

My family all produced their CDN passports and I handed him my UK passport. We explained that we were flying to SYR and then driving back into Canada.

The ICTS guy goes off for a couple of minutes and then comes back and says to me: "Can I see your Canadian PR card?" Now, as I have been reliably informed, only a CDN immigration officer can demand to see my PR card and it is required for flights direct into Canada. It is NOT required for crossing the land border (although it is recommeded to have it).

So my answer to him was: "You may see it but I am not legally obliged to show it to you. I am a British passport holder boarding a flight to the USA and I have an ESTA authorization. Only direct flights to Canada are required to have the PR card available".

My wife gave me a distinctly 'shut up' look but he simply examined my PR card and said nothing more to me.

All this before you even get to check in.......

You are incorrect on this point. The US VWP (which is what an ESTA authorises you to apply for admission under) requires that a person holds a return ticket for travel terminating outside "contiguous territory" (which includes Canada) UNLESS that person is a resident of "contiguous territory". You would not be eligible to travel by air to the USA under the VWP if you were not a resident of Canada (assuming your ticket terminated in "contiguous territory"). Your admissability to the USA under the VWP is therefore conditional upon your ability to demonstrate your residence in Canada.

You of course are not legally obliged to show the PR card to the airline if you so choose, but the airline correspondingly has the right to deny you passage as you may not have satisfied the documentary requirements to demonstrate residence in Canada and correspondingly admissability to the USA.

If you held a US visa (B1/B2 or C1 for example) you would however not be required to demonstrate residence in Canada as a condition of US entry (that condition is specific to VWP travelers only) and should therefore be permitted passage even without the PR card.

You cannot bypass any of this stuff by using OLCI. I once (on a US flight) went straight to security because I'd done a Web checkin and had no bags, and when I got to the gate they were very upset. Why didn't I have the ICTS sticker on the back of my passport? Etc.

They put me through a full secondary screening there, and at that point it was more time-consuming than if I'd gone through check-in. At LHR, even if you've checked in online and have no bags, you are supposed to go to the check-in line and answer the security questions. I don't know why they bother having Web check-in.

wg

Who told you that? At LHR I'm always asked for my PR card at some point, either at check in or before boarding.

The airlines are potentially liable if they transport a passenger to a country without proper entry documentation. Admittedly, it's unlikely that a UK citizen/Canadian PR without a PR card would be denied entry, but that's not the airline's concern.