Air Canada Vacations says it’s temporarily suspending some of its winter/early spring schedule due to rising cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
In a letter to members of the industry today, company vice president Nino Montagnese said new virus cases and government regulations have led to “unavoidable disruptions” for ACV. The cancellations are from January 24 to April 30, 2022, he said.
“At first glance, 2022 can be mistaken for its predecessor,” he said. “Omicron ushered in a wave of renewed uncertainty that coincided with the holidays and impacted our industry yet again.”
Suspended destinations include Antigua, Aruba, Samaná in the Dominican Republic, Curaçao, Exuma in the Bahamas, Grenada, Puerto Plata and Santo Domingo in the DR, Bermuda, Grand Cayman, Havana, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Martin/Sint Maarten, and Saint Kitts and Nevis.
It’s a definite blow to the travel industry in Canada, which was strongly rebounding as late as mid-November. But that was prior to the discovery of the Omicron variant.
Air Canada will operate a number of one-way commercial flights from affected destinations in order to return customers to Canada and make sure they’re not stranded overseas, ACV said.
Montagnese said the flight cancellations will impact only 7% of ACV customers, and that Air Canada Vacations will maintain operations to nearly two dozen sun destinations throughout the winter season.
“Unlike the heavy restrictions that kicked off 2021, this setback is a molehill, not a mountain. And this year is nothing like the last. We’re stronger, wiser and well-prepared to manage the potential effects of COVID-19,” he said.
“Our renewed position of strength can be seen when we look at this year’s holiday travel. Despite the confusion created by a new variant, our concerted efforts meant that the vacations of our customers were largely unaffected during the peak holiday period.:
