Guard Who Delayed West Jet Flight Resigns

Tuesday, November 30, 1999 12:00 AM

Prince George, B.C. – The guard who recently delayed a flight out of the Prince George Airport over his concern of the spread of HIV Aids, has resigned.

The guard was at the centre of a controversy as he called for the West Jet plane to be wiped down because some of the passengers had HIV Aids.

The incident enraged the Positive Living North group which said it was contemplating launching a human rights complaint. The incident also sparked the Positive Living North Group to arrange for sensitivity training and that session is set to take place on May 8^th.

Garda World Security out of Boston, which is the security company that has the security contract at the P.G. airport, has confirmed the guard in question offered his resignation and the company has accepted it.

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Posted on Tuesday, November 30, 1999 12:00 AM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: tiemens1 on April 11 2008 10:40 AM

That's a good news story - the person should have been fired outright though, rather than be allowed to resign. I am amazed at the level of ignorance regarding the spread of HIV/AIDS and hopefully this story will help to educate others. I travel a fair amount, sometimes to very large airports, many of them American airports, and I've never seen such over-the-top behavior as what I've seen at Prince George Airport security. I'm all for making sure that terrorists do not get on airplanes but these guys and gals behave more like customs and immigration people than security.

Posted by: owl on April 11 2008 10:53 AM

The guard was probably never told how to do his job properly.

Why he is there.

What the span of his authority is.

How that differs from the Ministry of Health in this case, for instance.

Anything about customer service and the fine line between that and ensuring true security.

Posted by: trackster on April 11 2008 11:05 AM

Why in the hell are we using a Security firm from Boston for security service at a Prince George Airport????

Posted by: Norm1 on April 11 2008 11:09 AM

There are many more comments and observations on this subject, appearing in a CBC news item as found under BC news at:
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/04/11/bc-pg-airport-guard-resigns.html?ref=rss.

Posted by: thereasonableman on April 11 2008 11:36 AM

Out of Boston...might as well call them a placement agency. Fax us your resume and we'll mail you your uniforms.

Posted by: thereasonableman on April 11 2008 11:37 AM

I hope this ex-guard takes his last paycheque and buys a textbook.

Posted by: Jimmi on April 11 2008 1:06 PM

It makes me wonder how many other liberties are being taken by gaurds at airports.

Posted by: kagee on April 11 2008 1:48 PM

tiemens1 is right about them acting like customs & immigration, my family were traveling to USA and they were not going to give some of us boarding passes as they said we did not have the right documents for entry and the USA immigration would not allow us in their country. We had to demand boarding passes and when we got to the USA customs & immigration we had no problem.

Posted by: Harbinger on April 11 2008 3:42 PM

Security? Ya pay peanuts, ya get monkeys. To wit.

Posted by: realitysetsin on April 11 2008 7:05 PM

Seriously? This is for real?

This guy couldn't really be that naive could he?

Posted by: owl on April 11 2008 7:18 PM

"This guy couldn't really be that naive could he?"

either naive

or ill instructed

or authority got ot his head

the question is, where was his supervisor?

what is the protocol? where and what are the standard operating procedures? I would not be surpised if these security companies get so much authority from the feds that even the airport authority does not know what the SOPs are.

Ergo ..... the taser incident at YVR. The system appears to be run amuk.

And I am sure that everyone wants to forget about it and "move forward". No one is intersted anymore in learning form things that went wrong and try to work in an environment that nourishes improvements and reduction in incidents.

Posted by: owl on April 11 2008 7:21 PM

So, I guess if he is young enough he quit so that he does not get a blemished record when he applies for the RCMP.

I wonder when the security people will be asking to carry weapons and be issued biohazard PPE.

Posted by: Andyfreeze on April 11 2008 9:32 PM

I wonder why they hire security companies from the U.S.?

Posted by: faithfulreader on April 11 2008 10:06 PM

They hire security companies from the U.S. because they're willing to work for peanuts.

Posted by: owl on April 11 2008 10:39 PM

"I wonder why they hire security companies from the U.S.?"

Because that is in the USA/Canada border agreement under homeland security?????

There is a rumour that under that agreement the USA also has the final say on whether a person gets a Canadian passport. ;-)

If we did not agree to that, we would by now have a 6m high security fence at the boder with observation towers each 500 metres .....

;-)

Posted by: thereasonableman on April 11 2008 11:07 PM

Good lord, Owl....don't give them any ideas !!

Posted by: Joe Gavaghan on April 12 2008 5:39 AM

Garda is a Canadian company (TSX:GW)headquartered in Montreal, not Boston.

Joe Gavaghan, Director
Corporate Communications
Garda

Posted by: thereasonableman on April 12 2008 12:10 PM

Any ties to Boston ?

Posted by: diplomat on April 12 2008 12:59 PM

"I hope this ex-guard takes his last paycheque and buys a textbook."

Perhaps the company did not have a precise *textbook* paragraph on communicable diseases and what they are?

I want everybody who has to do with deciding who is allowed to board a plane to always err on the side of caution when in doubt!

What good does it do if all the usual safety checks are done and after landing people have been infected with some disease from an infected passenger and croak because of that?

Perhaps - if they did not have the proper training - this incident will prompt them to put it in place?!

I think he should be re-hired with retroactive pay and given a promotion!

Posted by: Harbinger on April 12 2008 11:49 PM

Boston? Cheers? Cliff Claven types? Could happen.

Posted by: thereasonableman on April 13 2008 9:45 PM

No, I thought he might know the lead singer from Boston.