MONTREAL, 4 June 2003 — Air Canada announced Monday that the Canadian government had withdrawn permission for it to fly the only direct route from North America to Lebanon for national security reasons. “Since learning of the government’s intention over the course of the past 48 hours, our priority has been focused on finding a solution for our customers to minimize the inconvenience that this decision has caused,” said Bill Bredt, vice president, Network and Revenue Management. Air Canada was to announce yesterday the only nonstop service from North America to Lebanon, departing from Montreal. “Citing ‘reasons of national security’ the federal government directed the CTA (Canadian Transportation Agency) to suspend the license which it had granted Air Canada on March 28, 2003,” the company said.
