“No-fly list” passenger to face Canadian immigration panel on Wednesday

A Paris-to-Mexico flight was rerouted to Montreal and a passenger arrested on Sunday at the request of US authorities, the Canadian Border Services Agency said.

The Aeroméxico passenger has been identified as Abdirahman Ali Gaal, who appeared on a US no-fly list. The US did not allow the flight to enter its airspace after it learned that Mr Gaal was on board.

He was arrested on “an outstanding warrant,” although the United States Transportation Security Administration and the Canada Border Services Agency declined to say who issued the warrant or what charges Mr Gaal faced.

Mr Gaal is now being detained for 48 hours under Canadian immigration laws and will appear tomorrow before an immigration panel to determine whether he is to be released or deported.

The 150 passengers on the flight were forced to disembark and were searched, with police also searching the aircraft before it was allowed to resume its journey to Mexico.

The Canadian Visa Bureau is an independent consulting company specialising in helping people lodge their Canadian Visa applications with the Canadian Embassy.