Wow, didn’t know that about Air Canada. But how do they reconcile that with the new flight security requirements? I assume TSA would always require that the carrier be opened as described in the story. I imagine kitty doesn’t take kindly to some lazy, disgruntled TSA drone poking around in the carrier with his used latex gloves. Doesn’t sound practical.
When I flew with my cat you had to take the cat out of the carrier and bring her through the people x-ray while the carrier went with the take on luggage. Cat goes back into the carrier well before you get to the cabin. My cat was so freaked out about the airport she was more than happy to get back into the carrier.