WestJet has further extended its schedule reductions by 20% through March. “As WestJet continues to navigate ongoing uncertainty and barriers facing travel, the airline is announcing a further extension of its planned schedule consolidations through to March 31, 2022,” officials said Monday morning (Feb. 7). The company on January 18 announced a 20% flight reduction through February 28, 2022. Air Canada Vacations and Transat also have seen a reduction in flights this winter. An Air Canada spokesman this morning said it has nothing further to report on the issue. “For two years, WestJet has gone above and beyond to keep Read more
February 2022
One of the most tightly sealed countries during the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic says it will hopes to fully reopen by October of this year. According to CNTraveler, the government of New Zealand this week announced a five-step plan to fully reopen in time for their busy spring/summer season. New Zealand closed its borders to most world travellers in March of 2020, and has hardly budged since. Under step four of the government’s plan, visitors from Canada, the U.S. and other countries with waived visas will be allowed to enter beginning in July of this year, as long as they’re fully Read more
Canada’s chief health officer says provincial vaccine passports and other health measures need to be “re-examined” as Canada deals with the Omicron variant. Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam said Friday that Canada needs to find a more “sustainable” way to deal with COVID-19 and that all existing public health policies, including provincial vaccine passports, need to be “re-examined” in the coming weeks, the CBC reports. “What we need to do going forward, as we emerge out of this Omicron wave, is recognize this virus is not going to disappear,” she said. “We do need to get back to Read more
The first ever Global Tourism Resilience Day is set to be launched at Expo 2020 Dubai by Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism, the Hon. Edmund Bartlett, and Co-Chairman of his brainchild, the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC). “Jamaica is pleased to launch Global Tourism Resilience Day on February 17″ Bartlett said. “The focus will be on the ability of countries to build capacity to respond to international shocks and to be able to predict with greater certainty their responses “It will also aid countries in understanding and mitigating the effects of these shocks on their development, but most Read more
The latest poll from the Angus Reid Institute finds a strong majority of Canadians want community restrictions lifted. The latest poll, taken Jan. 27-28, found 54% want restrictions to be lifted compared to just 39% who wanted restrictions lifted when the same question was asked two weeks earlier, the non-profit institute said. “With Omicron now appearing to have peaked, many Canadians are leaning toward reducing restrictions related to COVID-19 control in Canada,” the group said in a statement on its website. The survey found that 32% of Canadians strongly agree with the statement that “It’s time to end restrictions and Read more
