Canada’s transport minister, John Baird, today announced that airline passengers travelling from Canada to the United States are now permitted to bring one carry-on bag with some small exceptions.

The new measure replaces the temporary restriction on carry-on bags introduced as a result of the December 25 security incident on a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit.

Following the incident, Transport Canada and the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) rushed through action to protect air travellers. In addition to introducing carry-on bag restrictions, Transport Canada issued security notices, invested in full-body scanners and announced its intention to implement behaviour pattern recognition.

The new rule only applies to flights to the United States and does not have an impact on passengers travelling within Canada or to an international destination.