The federal government says it's the responsibility of an airline to confirm the identity of passengers before they board a plane, following the incident of a young Asian male who disguised himself as an elderly white man and got on an Air Canada flight.

The government said it will probe the incident.

"Under the Identity Screening Regulations, airlines have the responsibility to verify the identity of all passengers who appear to be 18 years of age or older," a statement from the office of Transport Minister Chuck Strahl said Friday.

Canadian Border Services released pictures of the man alleged to have boarded an Air Canada flight in disguise. (CBSA)

"That means air carriers are supposed to look at a passenger's entire face to determine if they appear to be over 18 and if so, compare their physical appearance with their travel documents."

Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney echoed those comments. "We can't have Canadian officials standing outside every flight boarding to Canada," Kenney said. "We train the airline officials, and they then take responsibility and they face serious fines if they let people on board who are not who they claim to be."

A man who boarded the Air Canada plane in Hong Kong was arrested after the flight landed in Vancouver on Oct. 29. Air Canada security alerted the Canada Border Services Agency during the 12-hour flight about a passenger who "was observed at the beginning of the flight to be an elderly Caucasian male who appeared to have young-looking hands," the agency's statement said. "During the flight, the subject attended the washroom and emerged an Asian male that appeared to be in his early 20s."

The man made a claim for refugee status after he was taken into custody.

Government House Leader John Baird said the federal government will investigate the "very strange" case. "Obviously it's going to be investigated by the government, you bet. CBSA is looking at it now, I understand," Baird said Friday in the foyer of the House of Commons.

Canadian Border Services had the man don the disguise for this photograph after he arrived in Vancouver. (CBSA)

Speaking on Power & Politics with Evan Solomon, Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said the man is still in custody.

"I'm afraid I can't talk about any [refugee] claims that he might be making, but he is in custody, and the process is dealing with him," Toews said.

Kenney said officials try to confirm that people boarding flights have the appropriate boarding documents, adding that airport personnel have been trained to identify proper travel documents and ensure they are matched with people getting on board.

"This has massively decreased the number of undocumented arrivals in Canada, but some people do still slip through," Kenney said. "And if this story is true, it would underscore the need to step up our game in that particular area and find out how that particular thing happened."

Security expert Andre Gerolymatas said the man's apparent age may have helped him make it through a crush of passengers onto the plane. He warned against laying all the blame on frontline airline staff.

"These are people trained to provide hospitality aboard an airplane. Serving you drinks and food. They're not trained security experts."

Gerolymatas said the incident is proof of the need to focus attention on the most basic component of airport screening: identity.