Transportation officials deny the cargo zone at Montreal's Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport is a security problem, despite a newspaper reporter's claims to have wandered around restricted zones.

Earlier this summer, Journal de Montréal reporter Fabrice de Pierrebourg says he entered several cargo areas reserved for airport employees, without ever being asked for identification.

The results of his investigation were published Monday in a splashy feature in the popular Montreal newspaper.

Even if there is truth to the newspaper allegations, overall security at the airport is still airtight, said officials with Transport Canada.

Layers of security

At one point, de Pierrebourg claimed he walked up to a plane and touched it, without raising any suspicion. That doesn't present a real threat, said Transport Canada spokesman François Asselin.

"The aircraft was not guarded for some reason, but then there's a thorough search being done [on] the aircraft before it can take off," he explained. "It's a number of layers of security that allows us to protect the Canadian public."

Flying is a safer option than driving, despite the spectre of terrorism, said aviation expert Karl Moore, a professor in McGill University's faculty of management. 

Security systems recently introduced at the Montreal Trudeau airport are a model for safe air travel — it's just a question of making sure employees follow required procedures, said Moore.

"What happens over time is that there's not an incident, and people's awareness of [threats] and people's sensitivity within the system declines a bit," said Moore. "They just get more relaxed over time."

The newspaper investigation should act as a wake-up call to airport employees and authorities, said Moore.

Transport Canada says it will investigate the allegations, and close any security gaps it finds in the airport's cargo zone.

De Pierrebourg could also face fines for wandering around the airport's restricted zones without permission.