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0 pointseanzenberg6y ago0 comments

They’re moving from Canada, so assume people can’t/won’t travel to Canada.

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4 comments · 1 top-level

jkaplowitz6y ago· 3 in thread

Although their article clarifies that this isn't about changing anyone's physical location, as a general point about flying to/from Canada, many of the affordable itineraries involve connections through US airports and/or overfly US airspace (in a way that gives the US at least some authority over those flights).

This is not true for all flights to/from Canada, of course, but it does add complexity, expense, and often travel time for people who want to deal with Canada while avoiding US authority.

briandear6y ago

> /or overfly US airspace (in a way that gives the US at least some authority over those flights).

Overflight of US airspace doesn't give the US authority over the people inside the airplane. And flights to Canada from Europe or Asia don't overfly the US, except perhaps Alaska, but that's of zero consequence.

int_19h6y ago

US handles overflights and transfers differently from practically every other country out there. For overflight, TSA gets lists of passengers in advance, and runs them against the no-fly list - if you're on that list, you won't be allowed to board, even if your plane never even lands in US.

jkaplowitz6y ago

Overflight of US airspace does give the US authority to choose who is allowed on the plane, to require the airline to provide specified information to them through the passenger manifest, and to impose other conditions simply for being allowed to overfly. A person born in a plane overflying US airspace at the time of birth is a US citizen. An emergency landing of a flight overflying the US will often land in the US, and a plane ordered by US authorities to land while overflying has to comply. Lots of US influence in this area.

You're right that many direct flights between Canada and Europe or Asia don't overfly the US. Many of the affordable options are via US connections, however, and travelers from the rest of the world to Canada frequently overfly the US.

As for Alaska, it's very much a part of the US, to the level that everything I said above is true for flights which only overfly Alaska and none of the rest of the US.

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