A group of B.C. air carriers is suing the Canadian government over financial losses suffered because of tightened security restrictions during the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

The six airlines and flight schools plan to file a statement of claim next week asking the federal government to compensate them for increased expenses and revenue losses in February and March 2010.

The small air operators lost in excess of $1 million because of special aviation security measures, according to Michael Skrobica of the Air Transport Association of Canada (ATAC).

"In some cases it more than doubled the mileage for flights and doubled the trouble of the member's operations," Skrobica told ctvbc.ca in a telephone interview.

Skrobica said ATAC was involved in the planning process for 2010 aviation security in 2008 and voiced its concerns to the federal government, including Transportation Canada, many times about how businesses would be impacted.

"Unfortunately, our worst fears came to light," he said. "No one wanted to take responsibility for our concerns before or after the Games."

The proposed plaintiffs named in the suit are KD Air, Pacific Flying Club, Pacific Coastal Airlines, Pacific Professional Flight Centre, C. Morin Aviation (Glacier Air Tours) and Montair Aviation.

The owner of KD Air, a small airline that runs daily flights between Qualicum Beach and Vancouver, reported a 60 to 70-per-cent drop in the number of passengers during the Olympics compared to the year before.

"The normal amount of passengers in February is about 700 passengers and we went down to 255. That's a significant loss," Diana Banke told ctvbc.ca.

Instead of flying directly between Vancouver Island and the Mainland, all KD Air flights were grounded at Nanaimo Airport, where passengers were forced to disembark and undergo rigorous security checks.

The diversion meant a 30 minute flight became 90 minutes.

"It was a lot of hassle," Banke said, adding her airline was forced to purchase a one-year lease at the airport to accommodate the security checks.

Banke said her company has slowly rebounded from their losses, but is hoping the government "steps up to the plate."

"It's only fair after what we've been through."

ATAC said its lawsuit has a strong legal precedent, with air operators given compensation in the past for events such as G8 and G20 summits where regular air patterns are disrupted.