Saskatoon travellers navigate new U.S. laptop screening

Passengers headed to American destinations are facing more screening as of Wednesday.

The new security measures require people to remove cases on any electronic device larger than a phone and have the device charged enough to power it on.

“We haven’t seen any changes in terms of longer wait times in our security lineups,” Saskatoon airport CEO Stephen Maybury said.

“If you can take your cover off your tablet and turn the device on it’s a pretty manageable initiative.”

Maybury said if the device doesn’t turn on during the security check, customer service will help the passenger out.

The security measures were introduced by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to flights from the middle east earlier in the year, but is now being applied to all flights to the country.

Travellers at Saskatoon International Airport caught on quickly, many showing up at least two hours before their flights.

“It’s been all over the news so I knew to come early,” said Rebecca Fravel, who was flying to Minneapolis Wednesday.

“It should help keep us safe because nowadays a lot of issues have been going on in the world.”

But Hannah Hoffrogge, another Minneapolis passenger, doesn’t think the new screening will delay Saskatoon travelers.

“The Saskatoon airport isn’t busy enough to show up two hours early,” she joked.

“But you never know in the summer with vacationers.”

The changes aren’t being applied to screening for other international flights.