Airport Security Tips with CATSA

TMP 70 - CATSA
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Jenn: Hey everyone and welcome back to the Travel Mug Podcast. Uh, This week we're really excited to bring on guest Sandra. She is a team lead of client satisfaction at CATSA and she is gonna talk about all things airport security, airport security screening. I'm really excited to have you on the show, sandra. Welcome. Welcome.

Sandra: Thank you.

Jenn: So first of all, tell us , what is CATSA? Because some people might not know what that even means. Um, What do you think people should know about what CATSA actually does?

Sandra: So it's the, so it's the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority and what we're responsible for, our mandate is security screening at our 89 designated airports across Canada.

So we deal with passengers, the screening of passengers and their belongings. So that's where your carry-ons go through an x-ray machine and the individuals go through those, the full body scanners and the walkthrough metal detectors. That's us.

Meggan: Cool. I, I've had to go into the full body scanner a few times and I feel like, you know, I, I like being like extra safe, so I'm just like standing there and I'm like, do your thing.

Like . It's kinda, it's kinda a different experience cuz usually you just go through the line, put your bag on the counter and they go through and whatever. And I was like, oh, this is just fun. Let's do this. . Yeah.

Jenn: I always, it's funny when I go through them because I'm, I get in there and I'm like getting in the pose and they're like, you've done this before.

Sandra: Right.

Meggan: Oh my goodness. Well, before we sort of get into, of course, what all that means in terms of our listeners and some information that they should have, we are a travel podcast, so we'd love to sort of hear a little bit about your travel's, favorite destinations, anything you wanna share about, you know, some traveling you've done around the world, interesting places, anything like that you'd like to share?

Sandra: Sure. So, I mean, I've traveled a lot around Canada actually. And I'm used to traveling as a family. I have two kids. So, and my kids are really interested in getting to know Canada. Funny enough. That's my son's kind of really big interest. So we've done all of the Atlantic Coast and we've gone to BC, but actually just this past summer we did a little bit of an adventure travel with the family.

We went to Peru.

Meggan: Oh,

Sandra: and I have to say, yeah, that was pretty fantastic. My husband is from there, so we went to Machu Picchu. We did the desert. We did. They have desert, rainforest, and beach. So we did it all. .

Meggan: That sounds incredible fun.

Jenn: Yeah, Peru's definitely on my list. It sounds so amazing. I need to get there.

Meggan: And if you had to sort of pick out of those three types of almost climates in one place, essentially what part did you prefer or can you choose even ?

Sandra: I actually preferred the mountainous region just because in the day it's warm, but it was hitting like 22 degrees, 23 degrees, and then it cools off at night.

So you have a nice little breeze, you sleep well. You don't need air conditioning, you don't need heating. It's like just, it's perfect and it's so fresh. That was my favorite. It was the best.

Meggan: Yeah. We are, we're a fan of mountains on this here podcast, so that sounds. That sounds dreamy to us as well. Yes.

Jenn: Yeah. So when we're talking about airport security, I think one of the things that makes the airport screening process stressful for people is they don't know what to expect or they're just not prepared when they get there. So what are some kind of common mistakes that people are making when they're preparing for the airport in your opinion?

Sandra: I think, well, we encourage people to be prepared in, in ways where to arrive at the airports early. So make sure you're there two hours prior to, if it's a domestic flight, or three hours if you're going to the US or international flights. This will give you plenty of time if you hit traffic on the way. You have to register your baggage as check in with the airlines. Get your boarding pass printed if you don't have it done electronically. Go through our pre-board screening checkpoint, and then you have plenty of time to be in the secured area, have a coffee, do a little shopping, depending on the airport you're in, and, and you're more relaxed to catch that flight and go to your gate.

Another thing we encourage is passengers to be prepared in ways when you arrive at the screening checkpoint, make sure you have your boarding pass handy so it's not like in the bottom of your purse, ,

Jenn: yeah.

Sandra: You have it in your hand or your cell phone's on, it's ready to show to that screening officer. They need to validate. Um, And have your liquid gels and aerosols that you have in your carryon have them prepared. So the regulation is per containers, a hundred milliliters or less. So we're talking about liquids, creams, gels, aerosols, anything that's spreadable that has to be in containers of a hundred millilitres or less. And all of those containers need to fit in a one liter clear size bag. So make sure that bag is out and ready to go. When you get to that area where you're divesting that's another way you can really like, ease that process of the screening checkpoint.

Meggan: Yeah, I can imagine. I actually remember the Christmas that that incident happened that sort of changed the liquids game for like flying back in the day.

And everything has just been sort of a little bit different since then in terms of like what you can bring to the airport and what you can take through security. So those are, are necessarily not even new tips. But I still see people at the airport and not having like, the things with them and I, and I guess there could be first time travelers and they just might not have prepared themselves.

So I think that those are, you know, still very relevant tips and things that people are still having to keep in mind when they're, you know, preparing themselves. And I think, you know, we love a tip on the podcast as well, so if you could think of like someone out there. Packing their carry on. What would you say is like probably your number one tip you would tell people when they are at home still, preparing that bag to go through security with

Sandra: I, I think it's really to have, make sure your bag is, you know, where your things are in your bag, so your, your passport your bo your phone, that you're gonna have that boarding card in put it in like that front pocket so you know it's easily reachable. The liquids in gels. Make sure you have it already in the bag. Don't wait till you get to the checkpoint and then start kind of putting your things in this bag. Make sure you have that already to go. It doesn't have to be, we have these bags at the screening checkpoint, but it doesn't have to be the CATSA liquids and gels bag.

It could be any clear size bag that is one liter in size.

Jenn: Mm-hmm. ,

Sandra: put all those items inside your bag and make sure it's handy, because when you get to the screen checkpoint, you need to just kind of reach in and and divest it. Another really good tip is if you're traveling with your electronics. So everybody's laptop nowadays looks the same.

They're all silver. It's a Dell, it's a MacBook, it's Acer Lenovo, but it's few and far between. They all look alike, so try to personalize your devices, put stickers on them. If you can, even if it's a temporary post-it something that when you're, because you have to divest it. When you get to the screening checkpoint, it needs to come out of your carry-on bag.

And when you place it in your bin, you can put that liquids and gels bag beside it. So at the end of the line, when it goes through the x-ray unit, you know, this one right away belongs to me because either the liquids in gel bag, the stickers you've placed on that laptop or you can even put, you know, a hat, a cap gloves, something like that, that , you'll know this, this one belongs to me.

Another thing is when you're coming back, so a lot of times we think of we're heading out to our destination, how to prepare when we're leaving for our destination. But we also have to think about when we're coming back with our souvenirs.

Jenn: Mm-hmm. ,

Sandra: it's stuff that we didn't originally have in the carry-ons that we might now have because we've done little shoppings or even picked up some sand, for instance, at the beach that we wanna bring back home. So there's regulations on powders and inorganics and granular materials for carryon bags as well.

So it's limited to 350 milliliters per contain, like for all the containers. So it's combined 350 milliliters that you can have in your carryon. So you're looking at more or less the size of a soda can. That's what you're allowed. And then if you buy any products like alcohol. That'll be over 100 milliliters, right?

So you either need to put it in your check bag or there are bags, they're called recognized screening, security screening bags. The duty free shops will place these items inside for you and will allow the screening officers to open the bag. Test the alcohol, repackage it, seal it, and, and you're good to go.

But you, we really do encourage passengers. Go on our website, take a look at what the bag looks like. There's an image. It's a very specific bag, and it has to be that bag with the receipt. You need the receipt to show your purchase. And it has to be done within 48 hours of your flight. And you cannot open the bag or, you know, poke holes with it, tamper it, anything like that.

That's the screening officers job.

Meggan: please don't poke the bag.

Jenn: Yeah, I love those tips. I never really thought about cuz I, I usually travel with my laptop. And you know it's a Silver Mac, right? It's what everybody has. I've never thought, oh my God, someone else could grab my laptop by accident thinking it's theirs. Or I could grab someone else's by accident. I have never. Considered that. Thankfully it's never happened, but I'm putting a sticker on this thing before we go next week because ooh, that's,

Sandra: or even open it up and make sure it's yours. Right? Like we have a, a tendency to just kind of grab and go .

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: Yeah. Cuz I think once people are at the end, A lot of people are like, I don't wanna be the reason there's congestion here, so let's just get our things and go it. For some reason, that's when I'm most stressed is I'm like, okay, get my things. I gotta go so I don't get in like, so that's a really great point. Make your stuff identifiable.

Sandra: Yeah, absolutely. And also there are tables in in certain of our larger airports that are off the side of that screening line where you can take your items and go to those side tables. They're, they're there for that specific reason. So you don't feel that sense of urgency.

Meggan: Yeah.

Sandra: And you can take your time to repack and reorganize your belongings like the way you want.

Jenn: Yeah , especially when you're traveling in the winter and you have you know, a heavy coat that you have to take off and maybe a sweater or like a hat. And then you're also trying to put your laptop back in and you're trying to grab your liquids and put those back in your bag. It can feel really stressful. So yeah, taking it to that table and just like taking a minute and being like, do I have everything?

Sandra: Exactly.

Jenn: You don't wanna leave anything back behind that you have to go find later. Yeah. And yeah, just take your time and make sure you got eyes on everything that you

Sandra: Yeah. And especially if you're traveling with children too, right? So it's not just your things. Now you're thinking of the, the child's belongings and your partner's belongings, cuz usually there's that one person who's responsible for everybody's belongings. So, you know, take the time to, to repack everything and make sure everybody has their tablets and their phones and their laptops and it does belong to you.

And it's, it's funny that I mentioned families because that liquid gels and aerosols regulation, the volume restriction there are exemptions to it. So if you are traveling with children, of the age of under two, that doesn't apply to the children. So you can bring the formulas and, and the milk and any kind of creams you may need for the child as well as prescription and non-prescription medication.

So if you're traveling and you're bringing that kind of prescription or non-prescription medication, it's okay. You, it doesn't have to meet that 100 milliliter regulation and it's not part of the, the one liter bag. It doesn't have to fit with everything.

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: And so does that have to be packed then in like a, a specific bag for them? Like how do you say like, this is for my child or is, am I, is that a stupid question or how would you have

Sandra: No, not at all. It's, no, no silly questions, . It's, it's, it's actually something that people do ask us. Do we need to put it in a separate bag? No, you just need to, you do need to remove it and let the screening staff know while I'm with my child, they'll see you with, you know, a six month old and they'll be like, yeah, okay. They put it all together. So it could be, some people travel with bottles, pre-made formula. Some people have water and then they have the powder on the side. So they just kind of put it all together. It goes through screening, it goes through its own additional testing to allow them to enter the secured area with these liquids that are oversized.

And the same thing for medication. So you can put your medication in your own cosmetic bag. It doesn't have to be plastic or transparent, but it's, it's just easier for you to grab and, and put it in a bin separately. They'll see its prescription and non-prescription medication. Well, they'll see, like, you know, if you're traveling with Pepto-Bismol, depending on where you're traveling, right? Um, And they'll see, okay, that's, that's a non-prescription. You're fine. You can have that in your carry-on.

Jenn: Yeah, I wear contacts and so I, I travel with contact solution and it is really nice to be able to take a larger bottle, especially if you're going for a longer time. And I just take it out and it's usually swabbed, screened separately, and then it's go. It's, it's, they make it a really, really easy pro process. I've never had anyone give me a hard time about it, which is really great.

Sandra: That's good.

Meggan: That's excellent. Excellent. And that's good to know about Pepto too, because we're going to Cuba next week, so I might have to have that in my bag.

Sandra: Never know.

Meggan: Sadly, you don't, you don't. All .

Jenn: Uh, We do see a lot of airports are now implementing CATSA Plus, so how is that making the security screening process easier on us travelers?

Sandra: So, yes, CATSA Plus is actually our higher performance lines that they improve the passenger experience and passenger flow.

And the reason is because there's parallel divesting so four people can divest at one time. So it allows the individual who, you know, might not have many things to kind of zip through bypass the person who's taking their time, who may have a, a child and, and needs more time to divest, they can go right next to them and put their things and not have that long line waiting for the one person.

It also alleviates that, like what you were saying, that anxiety of, oh my God, everybody's waiting for me. Because, you know, well, there's three other spots right beside me. People can move to those three spots and I can continue divesting in, in the manner that I, I need to and take the time that I need to.

It also has motorized bin returns. So those bins that you use at the end of the line. The rollers are motorized and it spits them back to the beginning of the line where the parallel divest is. So we're not relying on the screening officers to grab bins and bring them to the front. They can focus on helping passengers out throughout that screening process with their belongings.

And there's the repack tables that I mentioned earlier as well. They all have these large metal tables at the end of the checkpoint, and it allows passengers to take their time and repack their items the way they first had them when they went through screening.

Jenn: Excellent. I noticed this the last time that I flew and it, it does make a big difference. And I have to say that also people leaving bin's willy-nilly was one of my biggest pet peeve, like jet. Why are they everywhere? I , I would like stacking everybody else's bins cuz it would make me nuts. But it's really nice having that automated it take it back to the beginning. So , they're not just everywhere,

Meggan: Oh, that's very true. And again, love the sort of area to the side. I think that's a big key. And my husband is not slow at the end, like I just have the anxiety, so I'm like, could you put your belt on any slower? But he's actually not being slow at all. It's just me being like anxious. So those tables are really helpful because I'm not like putting pressure on him he doesn't need, cuz he's fine. You know, . Oh my gosh. Anyway, so that's really, really great. Yeah. I think, you know, any website that people should visit before they travel is always gonna be important. So if you were to refer people to the CATSA website, like what resources can you find on there that would be useful to, not only to to new travelers, but even seasoned travelers? If you could tell people to go check out the website, what are some things you would certainly direct them to.

Sandra: Yeah, for sure. So there's a lot of very useful information on the website. There's travel tips and it, there's travel tips depending on the type of traveler you are. So, which is really neat cuz if you're traveling like myself, I mentioned that, you know, we, we tend to travel as a family, so there's tips for families, there's tips for seniors if they're traveling.

They tend to have different things in their carry-ons, like CPAP machines.. Right. Although nowadays there's the younger generation too, that also have these issues and they're, and they're traveling with CPAP devices. So how, how you need to divest that. Special needs. We do have a family special needs line at the checkpoint, so it lets you know about these types of lines that are available to you, depending on the traveler that you are.

So that's one really good thing to go check out on the website as well as there's this, what can I bring feature? So if you are packing and you happen to have an item in your hand and you're like, I'm not sure if this is gonna be allowed or not. You can go into this feature, type in what it is, and it'll let you know for carry on if it's permitted or if there it is permitted.

But there might be a, a restriction like perfume. There's a restriction. Restriction because it's a liquid, so it'll say a hundred millimeters or less. Or if it's only restricted, it's only allowed to go in your check baggage. So that's another kind of neat little feature. . And then it also provides tips on your, like how, how to prepare for screening as well, like how, whether it's what you're wearing, what to expect at the beginning of the screening checkpoint, throughout the screening checkpoint, the full body scanner that we mentioned the x-ray units. and then the screening officers themselves as well. So there's, there's neat little tips like that at the, for the website. There's also a mobile app that we have and it's called Breeze Through Security. And that one's really, really handy to have. It gives you current wait times at several of our airports. It also has the feature of carryon baggage. What can I bring? And several little screening tips as well that are handy to have in that, in that.

Jenn: Yes. I use the, what can I, can I bring it thing all the time. Because I have my friends text me cuz they know I travel and they're like, can I bring this in my carry on? And I, I put it in the website and I'm like, here's the actual website. Like you can search this stuff and it makes it really easy. That's not questionable. You're not getting to the airport and being like, I don't know if I can have this or not. You know? . I love that features.

Sandra: Yeah, it's a nice feature cuz it, you don't have to go hunting through the website, it just brings you directly to boop. That's the information you need. Yeah. And sometimes it gives you a little extra too, like things that you may not have thought of. So if you put in wine, it'll bring you to alcohol, but it also bring you, well is it duty free or are you just traveling domestic or, so it really narrows it down and lets you know, okay, this is the information specific to your travel.

Jenn: Yes. I, uh, was just thinking about the liquids and I've seen people when they're on their way home from traveling, they've boughten a nice little snow globe, and then they get, it's in their carry-on and they get to the airport and they can't take it because there's liquid in there. And that's

Meggan: never would've thought of that.

Jenn: I know, I know. But they, you know, they ha they're like, oh, I'm gonna put it in my carry on so it doesn't get broken. , but then there's liquid in it and it can't go in your carry-on. So that's one thing to think about. If you are a snow globe lover, I guess they're working on those.

Meggan: I'm sure they're out there. I'm sure of it.

Sandra: During the holiday season. We see them all the time. . Yeah,

Jenn: imagine. And then it's sad if you have to leave your, leave your snow globe behind or then you're checking a bag that you didn't plan to check, so, right. Yeah. That's where the website comes in handy, cuz you can search that.

Meggan: That's right.

Jenn: One thing that we've never done, either one of us is travel with an animal. So what should people know before they decide to travel with their animal?

Sandra: So for, if it's, it's your pets the air carrier would be your first and foremost contact. You really need to communicate with the airline to find out what their regulations are and, and what you need to abide by in the cabin.

But for screening itself the first and foremost is to let the screening officers know that you do have a pet. These carriers lately, they look exactly like carry on bags,

Jenn: right

Sandra: it's not like you're the old school cage plastic purple, you know? Very bright that, you know there's an animal in there.

Meggan: right? ,

Sandra: there's so many varieties. Now some of them look like purses. There's so nice , you know, there's actually a little kitten in there, or, or a small dog or, so let the screening officers know before you plop it into the, the bins because they're not supposed to go through the x-ray units, obviously.

Jenn: right? .

Sandra: So, and then the screening officers will know what to do if there's an animal, you let them know. So we do expect the owner to be able to handle the pets. So they need to hold the the pets on them with them while the carrier itself goes through the x-ray units. And then you'll cross over to the secured side.

So you go over through the walk through metal detector and then once that carrier is clear, then the pet can go back inside. If there's skittish animals out there. Right. It's, it's a new place. It's lots of noise. As they're not used to that. Let the screening officers know we do have the option of bringing you to a private search room.

So it's a closed room where there you know, you can take the animal out. And if it's scurries, it's scurries in the room.

Jenn: Right. , you're not through airport security in Toronto. Pearson Airport. Yeah. Yeah. Right. No, like that .

Sandra: Yeah.

Jenn: That's a really, I, I mean, we've never traveled with an animal. But those are really good tips to just know that you're gonna have to take them out. I didn't know that. So that's a really good tip for people.

Meggan: Yeah, definitely. So before we finish things off you know, we love a good tale, little good story here. So if you could tell us, you know, you know, of your years in the business, what's the craziest thing you've heard of or experienced that someone has tried to bring through security maybe. .

Sandra: It's something that I saw.

Meggan: Okay.

Sandra: Did, we did some media events over the holiday season and we actually saw somebody, they wanted to bring a flail, a medieval flail. So it's that. Yeah. You know, it's like the, the big baton with the, the ball and the spikes at the end.

Meggan: Yes. .

Sandra: Yeah. They thought that would've been okay and carry on.

Jenn: Whoa.

Sandra: No. . I was surprised. I mean, and I've been here for a while and when I saw that I was like, okay.

Meggan: Wow. I usually leave my flail at home. That's just me. Right. .

Sandra: Um, yeah. And then there was this huge oversized zippo, I guess it was a gag gift, but it had to be, it had to be like 15 inches by 15 inches. It was massive. It was this, it was a zippo, a, a functional zippo.

Meggan: Oh, wow.

Sandra: And it was filled with. Liquid.

Meggan: Lighter fluid, lighter fluid. . Oh my goodness. .

Sandra: So that wasn't allowed.

Jenn: No. .

Meggan: I wonder, you wonder, you have a website you can put stuff into that people should utilize?

Jenn: Yeah. . I don't know if Medieval flail is on the website, but, oh, well.

Sandra: Our lists are not exhaustive. We can't think of everything. ,

Jenn: I guess they searched it and went, oh, it must be fine.

Meggan: Must be fine. Flail must be fine. Oh my gosh. That's brilliant. Wow.

Jenn: The people, people are crazy out there. .

Sandra: Yeah, I think it's everybody, regardless of being a frequent flyer or someone new who's never done, you know, who's never flown before. We all go in through screening and it's. For as much as you may be prepared, it is like you just wanna go through it and, and you wanna catch your flight. And cuz everyone's just, I don't wanna miss my flight.

Jenn: Mm-hmm. .

Sandra: So that's why we, we can't encourage enough, be prepared. The more prepared you are, the less stressful. It would be, it'll be a more seamless experience for you and whoever you're traveling with. Go to the website, use or go to the, the mobile app. Arrive early. And like I mentioned before, you know, make sure you have that boarding pass handy. Personalize your electronics if you can. Also make sure your electronics can power up. It's really important because you may be asked to show that they're functional and if they have any cases. The, the protective cases they need to be removed as well. So little things like that is gonna help you if you're, if you're prepared before you actually get to screening checkpoint.

Jenn: Yeah, I think that is a perfect place to leave it. Like those are amazing tips and I think they're applicable to everybody. Whether you've traveled 200 times or you're heading out on your first trip really soon. Just be prepared, get there early. I, I cannot imagine the people that are showing up like an hour before their flight. Like, what are you doing

Meggan: What's going with your lives? And another thing is too, like, and, and thank you so much, you know, as we sign off for being here because, you know, we do try to, of course, have fun, but be useful to people. And I think that this information will be super useful. We will definitely put a link to the CATSA website and the show notes so that we can't thank you enough.

People, we encourage you to check out the resources. I think it's going to be key. Jenn will also link the CATSA Twitter because there's a lot of great info that's shared there as well. Um, So as for us, you can find us though at the travel mug podcast.com on Facebook, Instagram at Travel Mug Podcast.

Support the show through Buy Me A Coffee Link is also in the website sorry, on the notes. And leave us a review. People, you know, you love us, so you might as well leave us a five star review. Um, If you've learned something new, we'd love for you to share it. This episode with a travel loving friend, maybe they could enjoy the tips and tricks that Sandra shared with us today.

Otherwise, until we see you again, bye.