TRAVEL NEWS UPDATES
DISCLAIMER - Please note - these updates are for information only. If you plan on travelling be sure to check the latest rules and requirements. The situation is changing constantly.
Thursday 14 January, 2021 - as reported in Travel Pulse
AIR CANADA CUTS POPULAR ROUTES
The pandemic and ongoing travel restrictions are forcing Air Canada to suspend some of their most popular flights, at least temporarily.
In a memo sent to TravelPulse Canada, Canada's largest airline outlined the details of the 25% capacity reduction they mentioned in a Wednesday statement. The list contains 44 temporarily suspended flights, including 12 domestic, 10 trans-border (USA) and a full 22 international routes.
Effective Jan 23, this is a list of the stations closed and routes suspended until further notice:
Additional airport stations closed in Canada:
Fredericton NB, Gander NL, Goose Bay NL, Yellowknife NWT, Kamloops BC, Prince Rupert BC
Additional domestic routes suspended
Fredericton–Montreal
Gander–Halifax
Goose Bay–Halifax
Kamloops-Vancouver
Ottawa-Calgary
Ottawa-Vancouver
Prince Rupert-Vancouver
Quebec City-Toronto
St. John’s-Toronto
Victoria-Calgary
Winnipeg-Calgary
Yellowknife-Edmonton
Transborder routes suspended
Calgary to: Maui
Montreal to:Denver, Houston, Orlando
Toronto to: Houston, Orlando, Tampa, Washington (Dulles)
Vancouver to: Honolulu (until April), Maui (until mid-February)
International flights suspended
Montreal to: Barbados, Casablanca, Cozumel, Samana, San Jose (Costa Rica), Santa Clara, Turks & Caicos, Nassau, Sao Paulo, Puerto Vallarta
Toronto to: Cozumel, Curacao, Ixtapa, Los Cabos, Paris, Saint Lucia, Santa Clara, St. Vincent, Zurich
Vancouver to: Los Cabos, Mexico City, Puerto Vallarta
Air Canada on Wednesday said it will have to reduce capacity by 25% and lay off 1,700 workers due to a lack of demand.
AIR CANADA CUTS POPULAR ROUTES
The pandemic and ongoing travel restrictions are forcing Air Canada to suspend some of their most popular flights, at least temporarily.
In a memo sent to TravelPulse Canada, Canada's largest airline outlined the details of the 25% capacity reduction they mentioned in a Wednesday statement. The list contains 44 temporarily suspended flights, including 12 domestic, 10 trans-border (USA) and a full 22 international routes.
Effective Jan 23, this is a list of the stations closed and routes suspended until further notice:
Additional airport stations closed in Canada:
Fredericton NB, Gander NL, Goose Bay NL, Yellowknife NWT, Kamloops BC, Prince Rupert BC
Additional domestic routes suspended
Fredericton–Montreal
Gander–Halifax
Goose Bay–Halifax
Kamloops-Vancouver
Ottawa-Calgary
Ottawa-Vancouver
Prince Rupert-Vancouver
Quebec City-Toronto
St. John’s-Toronto
Victoria-Calgary
Winnipeg-Calgary
Yellowknife-Edmonton
Transborder routes suspended
Calgary to: Maui
Montreal to:Denver, Houston, Orlando
Toronto to: Houston, Orlando, Tampa, Washington (Dulles)
Vancouver to: Honolulu (until April), Maui (until mid-February)
International flights suspended
Montreal to: Barbados, Casablanca, Cozumel, Samana, San Jose (Costa Rica), Santa Clara, Turks & Caicos, Nassau, Sao Paulo, Puerto Vallarta
Toronto to: Cozumel, Curacao, Ixtapa, Los Cabos, Paris, Saint Lucia, Santa Clara, St. Vincent, Zurich
Vancouver to: Los Cabos, Mexico City, Puerto Vallarta
Air Canada on Wednesday said it will have to reduce capacity by 25% and lay off 1,700 workers due to a lack of demand.
Wednesday 6 January, 2021 - as reported in Travel Pulse -
NEW - two types of test are acceptable - BUT no test no boarding!
The test must be performed using one of two types of COVID-19 tests–either a molecular polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or Loop-mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP)–and must be conducted within 72 hours of the traveller's scheduled departure to Canada.
All travellers coming to Canada must present this information at the time of boarding. Failure to do so will mean an automatic denial of boarding by the airline operating the flight to Canada.
(The government previously had said travellers who could show they were not able to get a COVID test could board anyway, but face a mandatory 14-day quarantine in a government-approved facility).
NEW - two types of test are acceptable - BUT no test no boarding!
The test must be performed using one of two types of COVID-19 tests–either a molecular polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or Loop-mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP)–and must be conducted within 72 hours of the traveller's scheduled departure to Canada.
All travellers coming to Canada must present this information at the time of boarding. Failure to do so will mean an automatic denial of boarding by the airline operating the flight to Canada.
(The government previously had said travellers who could show they were not able to get a COVID test could board anyway, but face a mandatory 14-day quarantine in a government-approved facility).
Monday 4 January, 2021 - as reported in Travel Week
UPDATES FROM AIRLINES WITH LINKS TO LABS AND COST OF TESTS
Airlines including Air Canada, WestJet, Sunwing and Transat have all posted updates to their websites with the new requirement, as well as resources to help passengers get their PCR tests done.
Here’s a list of info pages:
For Air Canada, click here.
For WestJet, click here.
For Sunwing, click here.
For Transat, click here.
UPDATES FROM AIRLINES WITH LINKS TO LABS AND COST OF TESTS
Airlines including Air Canada, WestJet, Sunwing and Transat have all posted updates to their websites with the new requirement, as well as resources to help passengers get their PCR tests done.
Here’s a list of info pages:
For Air Canada, click here.
For WestJet, click here.
For Sunwing, click here.
For Transat, click here.
NEW - COVID TEST NOW REQUIRED TO ENTER CANADA
Thursday, December 31, 2020
Posted by The Canadian Press OTTAWA — Anyone arriving in Canada starting Jan. 7 will need to have a negative COVID-19 test before boarding and may have to quarantine in a federal facility if they have inadequate isolation plans, the federal government says.
Flyers aged five and up will need have a negative PCR test within 72 hours of their scheduled departure and must show the results to their airline before they board their flight.
Travellers who receive a negative test result must still complete the mandatory 14-day quarantine.
Travellers will have to provide a quarantine plan for federal officials to review.
If officials aren’t satisfied, the government said people will be required to quarantine in a federal facility.
The statement on Thursday afternoon said Canadians vacationing abroad should immediately start arranging for a COVID-19 test to avoid delays in coming home.