Ottawa has announced changes to “wet-leasing” in the airline industry, six months after CTV News reported on an incident when fighter jets were scrambled to intercept a Sunwing flight because air traffic control had lost contact with the Portuguese-based crew.

The term “wet leasing” refers to an airline company leasing a plane and crew from another operator.

Transport Minister Lisa Raitt has limited wet-leasing by imposing a cap of “20 per cent of a Canadian carrier’s fleet that can be wet-leased from a foreign company for periods of more than 30 days.”

“Our government is working to make sure that Canadians are first in line for Canadian jobs, to open new markets for Canadian companies and to give more options to Canadian consumers,” Raitt said in a statement.

She also said the rules would not affect the amount of flights for Canadians hoping to travel on holiday.

The new rules “allow some flexibility for Canadian airlines to meet Canadians’ seasonal demand for air travel.”

“This new policy strikes a balance by imposing limits, while preserving some flexibility for Canadian airlines to meet travellers’ seasonal demands for air service,” she said.

Last February, CTV News reported on a July 16, 2012 incident in which two Canadian CF-18 Hornet fighter jets intercepted a Sunwing flight because it wasn’t responsive to radio communications.

Sunwing, based in Toronto, had leased the plane from EuroAtlantic Airways.

Department of National Defence figures say the total cost per flying hour for the CF-18 Hornets is $44,493. The mission involving the two jets lasted just over an hour, costing taxpayers about $90,000.