As many as 180 people were laid off at airport duty-free shops across Canada on Wednesday because of a sales drop attributed to the strict new security regulations.

Business has fallen an average of 60 percent since new rules were introduced prohibiting passengers from bringing liquids in their carry-on luggage, officials said.

Canada added juice and aerosols to the list of banned products on departure flights Sunday in a bid to prevent terrorist attacks following the foiled bomb plot in the United Kingdom this week.

Gels and fluids had already been banned immediately after British police announced the arrest of 24 terror suspects last Thursday.

The lay-off affected workers in Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary, officials said. In Toronto, sales were down over 1 million Canadian dollars (US$890,000) over the past four days compared with sales from the same period last year. Seven shops closed at Toronto's Pearson International Airport, leaving just five open in the three terminals.

(Xinhua News Agency August 17, 2006)