Hundreds of lasers still being pointed at airplanes

Transport Canada told to ramp up ways to crack down on dangerous practice

OTTAWA— Transport Minister Marc Garneau has told his officials to explore “all possible options” to crack down on the practice of aiming laser pointers at aircraft.

Laser incidents are down by 25 per cent since a public education campaign began two years ago. There were 379 reported incidents of lasers aimed at planes last year, down from 590 in 2015 and 527 in 2016.

“This is not only reckless, it is criminal and it is absolutely essential that we bring those numbers down because one is too many, there’s no question about it,” Garneau said in an interview.

A laser pointed into the cockpit of an aircraft — usually during takeoff or landing — can distract, disorient or even temporarily blind a pilot.

“I think that we have dodged many bullets,” Garneau said.

Transport Canada’s “Not-a-Bright-Idea” safety awareness campaign has tried to educate Canadians on the risks and consequences of aiming a laser at a plane, including posting a video of what a pilot sees when a laser is shone into the cockpit and emphasizing the potential penalties — fines of up to $100,000, five years in prison or both — if an individual is caught targeting an aircraft.

Prosecutions are “few and far between,” Garneau said, since it is tough to pinpoint a laser’s source.

Over just two days this month, there were six laser incidents involving planes landing at Montreal’s Pierre Elliott Trudeau airport.

A federal official, who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, said the options include banning the import of certain types of powerful lasers, mandatory warning labels and stiffer penalties.