Travel Tips

Check in Times

It is recommended that you check in at least one hour before your flight departure time. In the event of a flight delay, please check with your airline for updated check in times.

Baggage Allowances

The baggage allowance, as well as the amount you can carry on the aircraft, may differ from one airline to another.  Please check the following sites for information on baggage allowances for your specific airline.

Baggage Restrictions

Carry-on Baggage* - New Security Measures
click here for more information from Transport Canada.

The following is a list of items that are prohibited as carry on items on board domestic flights in Canada. These items are also prohibited from being brought into the secure boarding lounge or aboard aircraft as carry on. These items are not to be brought through security and will be confiscated, in some incidences the RCMP may be called for assistance. Our guests' safety and security is our foremost concern, our security measures reflect this.

  • Automatic car starters
  • Baseball Bats
  • Bowling Balls
  • Cork screws
  • Cricket Bats
  • Cutting instruments such as knives, knife like objects. (This includes cultural blades such as kirpans, dirks, sabers and swords as well as scuba knives)
  • Darts (including lawn darts)
  • Golf Clubs (two loose)
  • Fishing Poles (no hooks)
  • Hockey Sticks
  • Horse Shoes
  • Ice picks
  • Ice skates with blades
  • Knitting Needles
  • Lacrosse sticks
  • Letter Openers
  • Parachutes
  • Pocket Knives
  • Pool Cues
  • Remote car door openers
  • Remote garage door openers
  • Restraining Devices (exception - those restraining devices used by flight crew or prisoner escorts)
  • Scissors
  • Ski Poles (cross country and hiking poles)
  • Straight razors
  • Tennis /squash rackets
  • Toy weapons
  • Trade Tools

Nail clippers, non-metallic nail files are permitted. Syringes or needles for personal medical use with the needle guard intact are permitted when verified by a medical doctor as a necessity.

Acceptance of any item is always subject to available space on the aircraft and the requirement that it be x-rayed or otherwise inspected to ensure the article is genuine and not used to transport a prohibited item.

Required Documentation

Please contact your airline carrier for current documentation information. Please remember that you will need proof of citizenship when travelling internationally. Your driver's licence is not sufficient. Also, when children are travelling without a parent, they will need notarized documentation - please contact your airline for more details. When travelling with infants and children please be advised you will require identification for each child (birth certificate or medical card). If you are travelling with a child that is not related to you, you will require a signed letter giving permission for travel from the child's parent or guardian. If you are sending a child unaccompanied on a flight please arrive at least 1.5 hours before flight time. Please contact individual airlines for more information.

Canada Customs Information

When you return to Canada from abroad, you may qualify for a personal exemption. Personal exemptions allow you to bring goods of a certain value into the country without paying duties. Except for restricted items, you can bring back any amount of goods, as long as you are willing to pay the duties and any provincial or territorial assessments that apply. This rule applies even if you do not qualify for any kind of personal exemption. To find out whether or not the goods you are bringing back exceed your personal exemption, make sure to convert all foreign currency amounts into Canadian dollars at the appropriate rate of exchange.

IMPORTANT NOTICE regarding US bound passengers CLICK HERE

Information for visitors to Canada CLICK HERE

Personal Exemptions for Canadian Residents

For detailed informaiton on personal exemptions, please visit the Canadian Border Services Agency website at: http://www.cbsa.gc.ca/menu-eng.html.  A useful documet to read prior to travel, is the brochure titled "I Declare." 
 

Who is eligible for these exemptions?
You are eligible for a personal exemption if you are one of the following:

  • a Canadian resident returning from a trip outside Canada;
  • a former resident of Canada returning to live in this country; or 
  • a temporary resident of Canada returning from a trip outside Canada.

Young children and infants are entitled to a personal exemption. As a parent or guardian, you can make the customs declaration for the child, as long as the goods you are declaring are for the child's use. Note: you cannot combine your personal exemptions with another person's or transfer them to someone else.

Tobacco and Alcohol

You can include alcoholic beverages and tobacco products in your 48 hour or yearly exemption, but not your 24-hour exemption. All tobacco products and alcoholic beverages have to accompany you in your hand or checked luggage. The following conditions apply:

Tobacco Products

If you meet the age requirements set by the province or territory where you enter Canada, you can include up to 200 cigarettes, 50 cigars or cigarillos, 200 grams of manufactured tobacoo and 200 tobacco sticks. If you bring in more than the free allowance, you will have to pay the duties that apply. In some cases, provincial or territorial limits and assessments may also apply.

Alcoholic Beverages

If you meet the age requirements set by the province or territory where you enter Canada, you can include up to 1.5 litres (53 ounces) of wine; 1.14 litres (40 ounces) of  liquor; a total of 1.14 (40 ounces) of wine and liquor; or 24 x 355 ml (12 ounce) cans or bottles (8.5 litres) of beer or ale. You can bring in more than the free allowance of alcohol except in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. However, the quantities must be within the limit set by the province or territory where you will enter Canada. If the value of the goods is more than the free allowance, you will have to pay both customs and provincial/terrirtorial assessments.  For more information, check with the appropriate provincial or territorial liquor control authority before your arrival back to Canada.

Making Your Declaration

If you are returning to Canada by commercial aircraft, you will receive a traveller declaration card to complete before you arrive. This will help speed up the customs process. Children and people with disabilities can have family members or fellow passengers complete their cards for them. These cards are also used at some locations for travellers arriving by rail, vessel, or bus. If you have any questions about the card or Canadian regulations, please ask the customs officer when you arrive. If you are arriving in Canada in a private vehicle such as automobile, an aircraft, or (in some cases) a bus, you can make an oral declaration unless you are claiming the $750 exemption.

More Information

The information above was provided from the Canada Border Services Agency publication entitled "I Declare", available at various customs points in Canada, or from Canada Customs directly. Contact the regional office nearest you for more information - Prince George: 250-561-5282 * Toll free: 800-461-9999