IATA is taking aim at Canada – again – saying the federal government “urgently” needs to discontinue its current COVID-19 related travel restrictions, which the airline association says are now “out of step” with the global trend of lifting travel measures. It also blames the restrictions in part for the ongoing delays and disruption affecting air travellers across the country.
“Canada has become a total outlier in managing COVID-19 and travel. While governments across the globe are rolling back restrictions, the Government of Canada is reinstating them,” says IATA’s Regional VP for the Americas Peter Cerda.
He adds, “The government should follow the lead of its peers, including, for example, Australia. While that country had some of the toughest travel restrictions during the height of the pandemic, it has now lifted these, including the vaccination requirement. Rather than following this example and enabling travel and tourism to recover, those in power in Canada believe that throwing more red tape at the pandemic is the way forward.”
To that end, IATA is calling on the government to quickly address the following issues:
Remove random testing of international arriving passengers
“If, as announced, random testing is reinstated from July 19, then travellers will be forced to either go to a designated testing center or administer a self-test after arrival. In case of a positive test result, travellers must isolate for 10 days, which is twice as long as the average isolation period recommend by any provincial or territorial health authority in Canada and once again singles out travelers as compared to the rest of the population.”
End the vaccination requirement for international travel
“The vaccination mandate for international travel to Canada is in essence obsolete, as only the basic immunization and no booster shots are required to be considered fully vaccinated. In addition, the proof of vaccination is no longer used in everyday life in Canada. Ending this travel-related mandate would remove the need for the manual and time-intensive documentation check at flight origins outside Canada and during immigration upon arrival.”
Use ArriveCAN solely as an entry tool for customs
“The removal of the vaccination mandate would also allow ArriveCAN to be used solely for customs and immigration purposes and not for capturing and validating COVID-19 related health and vaccination information. This is what is slowing down border processing. In addition, airlines are now being asked to provide a list of passengers who have not completed ArriveCAN not later than one hour after the departure of an international flight to Canada. This is tying up critical staff at a time when resources are already stretched to the limit.”
Ending mask mandates
“Mask mandates at airports and on aircraft need to be withdrawn, especially since they are no longer in place in most public settings in Canada, including public transport and sporting venues.”
“After more than two-years of onerous COVID-19 restrictions people want to be able to travel again, as we can clearly see from the current level of demand,” says Cerda. “Ramping up the entire value chain has come with some challenges. Maintaining outdated COVID-19 restrictions contributes to the delays passengers are experiencing at major Canadian international gateways.
“Governments need to ensure that travel restrictions are designed to address today’s environment, not the environment of the previous two years. Now is the time for the Government of Canada to join its counterparts around the world and remove unnecessary and outdated measures.”
IATA represents some 290 airlines comprising 83% of global air traffic.