The Canadian government is temporarily halting random COVID-19 testing of incoming international passengers at Canadian airports.
Unvaccinated travellers will still be tested at airports until the end of June. As of July 1, all testing, including for unvaccinated travellers, will be performed off-site, officials said.
But the halt is only temporary, and officials said random testing will definitely resume in July.
In an interview with CBC’s Power & Politics, Tourism Minister Randy Boissonnault said the 20-day pause in random testing will give the government time to set up off-site testing as the program shifts away from the country’s airports.
“It’s going to make sure that the airports flow more quickly. The airports aren’t designed to be mini health care centres and so this will help with staff, it’ll help with congestion,” Boissonault said. “So this is a good step in the right direction.”
“The Government of Canada recognizes the impact that significant wait times at some Canadian airports are having on travellers. We continue to work with airports, airlines, baggage handlers, and other partners to implement solutions to reduce delays as we approach the summer peak season,” Transport Canada said in a statement on Friday.
Canadian airline and tourism officials have been calling for an end to random testing at the airport, a policy they said was helping cause congestion and major delays for passengers.
The news from the Trudeau government in Ottawa comes the same day that the U.S. announced it will no longer require a negative COVID-19 test for passengers flying into the U.S.
The U.S. policy comes into effect Sunday morning, June 12, just after the Canadian change takes place.
“The lifting of the testing requirement for inbound international air travelers is very welcome news for New York City’s travel and tourism industry, and will no doubt accelerate our continued recovery and that of the U.S.,” said Fred Dixon, president and CEO of NYC and Co., which promotes tourism in New York City.
Although it’s a U.S. policy, the move by the Biden administration could help Canadian tourism by making it easier – and cheaper – for Americans who visit Canada to go home.
The U.S. for some time has required anyone flying to the States to show a negative COVID test taken the day of travel, or the day before. A senior official in the Biden administration said today that the rule will expire Sunday at 12:01 a.m. EDT. The official said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determined it is no longer necessary.
Other Canadian government health measures, such as the requirement for passengers to have full vaccination status and the requirement to use the ArriveCAN app, are staying in place, at least for now.
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