VIP treatment for Halle Berry angers Canadians
January 9th, 2010 - 9:30 am ICT by IANSToronto, Jan 9 (IANS) Canadian police are under fire for fast-tracking Hollywood actress Halle Berry through security checks at Montreal airport even as thousand of passengers waited for their turn in line Monday.
The Oscar winning actress was travelling with her family from Montreal to Los Angeles in an Air Canada flight.
Berry, her boyfriend Gabriel Aubry who hails from Montreal and their 22-month-old daughter Nahla didn’t have to wait in line as a police officer quickly escorted them through US customs.
But the VIP treatment for the Hollywood star left passengers furious and Canadians angry, forcing Montreal police to admit that it was a mistake to treat Berry differently during the Holiday rush amid tighter security.
In a directive issued Friday to its officers, police ordered them not to repeat the mistake of according special treatment to anyone as passengers cope with security-related delays after the aborted bombing of a US airliner on Christmas day.
“The husband of Ms Berry asked if they could go faster through the line because they were late and they had the baby,” police inspector Jimmy Cacchione, who heads the 36-member airport security unit, told the Canadian Press.
“The officer took the personal initiative to allow them to go through the line faster, but that’s not something the Montreal police supports,” the police inspector said.
He said police provide escort only when celebrity passengers face a threat of mobbing by autograph seekers and when passengers have disability or are travelling with kids.
But that wasn’t the case when Halle Berry and her family were escorted through customs Monday, he said.
Since millions of them travel to the US, Canadians are fuming at the tighter security at the country’s airports. Passengers have been banned from taking any carry-on bag on board, and face additional full body searches just before entering the plane.
The government has ordered installation of full-body scanners at all the major airports, further infuriating civil rights groups and lawyers.
- Halle Berry Skips Security At Montreal Airport, Leaves Passengers Enraged - Jan 10, 2010
- Carry-on bag allowed on flights from Canada - Jan 21, 2010
- Now drink containers under scanner at North American airports (Lead) - Dec 25, 2010
- Halle Berry's Ex-Boyfriend Gabriel Aubry Files For Joint Custody Of Daughter Along With Paternity Claims - Jan 19, 2011
- Berry's ex-boyfriend wants joint custody of daughter - Jan 19, 2011
- Gabriel Aubry not to be charged for battery - Feb 18, 2012
- Full-body scans introduced at Canadian airports - Jan 06, 2010
- Police on the look out for intruder who entered Halle Berry's house - Jul 11, 2011
- Security beefed up at Beijing airport after Moscow blast - Jan 25, 2011
- Halle Berry, ex-beau to live together this summer - May 20, 2010
- Canadian airports remain chaotic due to tougher security - Dec 30, 2009
- Halle Berry checks Paris schools for daughter - Mar 23, 2012
- Tougher airport measures, more restrictions on air passengers - Dec 27, 2009
- US Transportation Security Administration to start 'Trusted Traveler Program' - Oct 05, 2011
- Halle Berry May Encounter An Unpleasant Custody Fight - May 22, 2010
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