On November 4, the final provisions of the Secure Air Travel Act (SATA) regulations came into force. This allowed the launch of the new Canadian Travel Number (CTN) and centralized screening on November 18th, 2020.
The Canadian Travel Number online application has launched on the Public Safety website Canadian Travel Number (CTN). This will allow travelers to apply in advance of air carriers starting to transfer to the new centralized screening system beginning in late November.
These new measures will:
- Strengthen air travel security by allowing the government to take over the responsibility of screening travelers against the Secure Air Travel Act (SATA) list (commonly referred to as Canada’s “no-fly list.”). This screening is currently done by air carriers.
- Better protect the privacy of those who may have the same, or similar name, as someone on the SATA list by taking over the responsibility of screening from air carriers.
- Prevent check-in delays for people with the same, or similar, names to those on the SATA list:
- offering travelers the ability to apply for a Canadian Travel Number – a unique number they can use at the time of booking air travel to help distinguish them from those on the SATA list.
- screening travelers against the SATA list before they arrive at the airport for their flight.
- Reduce potential for bias in air security screening against the SATA list by having an automated IT system that is done in advance, instead of when travelers are present themselves at the airport.
The Canadian Travel Number is not for everyone. It will only help reduce air travel delays in situations where the traveler’s name is the same, or similar, as someone on the SATA list.
The only noticeable difference for most people when travelling will be that they will soon be required to submit their date of birth and gender at the time of booking.
