Members of an AIDS support group in Prince George say they were humiliated by airline security at the local airport and are considering filing a human rights complaint over the matter.

Alison Paul, an AIDS prevention and support worker with Positive Living North in Prince George, B.C., says members of the group were humiliated over their HIV status at the local airport.
(CBC)

Seven members of Positive Living North were flying to a conference in Vancouver last week but their flight was delayed for an hour after an airport security guard raised concerns about their "diseases" with WestJet flight staff, said Alison Paul, an AIDS prevention and support worker with the group.

Paul told CBC News Monday a flight attendant announced the delay of the plane and pulled her aside to talk to the pilot.

The airport security guard had asked for a wipe down because he said he knew people in the group had "diseases," Paul said.

"He [the security guard] said that he had recognized one of the members or one of my group from [Prince George] downtown. He said he knew this person has diseases and that he was trying to keep the staff and people safe in the aircraft," she said.

Tina Joyce says she's afraid her HIV status might again be the subject of unfounded safety concerns.
(CBC)

"I broke down in tears and said, 'I've been travelling with the organization for a long time and never have I been treated like this.'"

After talking with Paul, the WestJet pilot called the security guard's concerns ridiculous, apologized to the group and the plane promptly took off, Paul said.

Members of group said they had been publicly humiliated.

"I was disgusted … I just thought, 'Who the hell do you think you are? You don't even know me,'" said Tina Joyce, who's living with AIDS.

"What can I say it's not going to happen again?" Joyce said.

WestJet official Richard Bartrem said it was never the airline's intention to have the plane wiped down.
(CBC)

"I don't think it was ever our intention to have to wipe down the plane," Richard Bartrem, director of brand and communications at WestJet Airlines, said Monday.

"There was no reason why these people could not travel with us. The captain made that determination," he said.

The Prince George Airport Authority said Monday it, too, wants answers from Garda World Security, the company in charge of its security.

"We are very concerned about the customer service experience at the Prince George airport, whether it's a baggage issue or a parking issue or the overall customer experience," said Todd Doherty, a spokesman for the authority.

Joe Gaviggin, a spokesman for Garda, told CBC News the company has started investigating the incident.

"We just became aware of the incident so we do need to look into it and what action we should take," he said.