A program that allows Canadian travellers to speed through security and U.S. customs could be back to full strength by spring. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Joe Biden met yesterday in Mexico City. Following the meeting, it was announced that the Nexus travel program is slowly returning to “normal” operation. Officials said the agreement between the U.S. Customs and Border Protection office (CBP) and the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) will allow Nexus offices to re-open in select Canadian airports. Nexus offices in other locations have been open for the past year or so, but a dispute Read more

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration says normal U.S. air traffic operations are gradually resuming. “Normal air traffic operations are resuming gradually across the U.S. following an overnight outage to the Notice to Air Missions system that provides safety info to flight crews,” the FAA said on its Twitter feed. “The ground stop has been lifted.” The FAA suffered a “system outage” over night and, at one point, ordered airlines to pause all domestic departures until 9 a.m. Eastern Time to allow the agency to validate the integrity of flight and safety information. The FAA supplies critical information to pilots and Read more

VIA Rail Canada says it sorry for a pre-Christmas incident that left passengers stranded on a train for 18 hours, and it’s promising to do better. The company issued the following statement today regarding the travel delays and train cancellations which occurred from December 23 to December 26: “A severe winter storm along with the derailment of a freight train disrupted VIA Rail’s operations from December 23 to 26. Unfortunately, a number of trains, particularly along the Québec City–Windsor corridor and elsewhere in Eastern Canada, were cancelled or delayed for extended periods. We appreciate that passengers were looking forward to Read more

The House of Commons committee that handles transportation issues this week will launch special hearings this week to examine the travel chaos that ruined the holidays for hundreds of Canadians. CTV reports the first hearing will take place on Thursday and is expected to see Transport Minister Omar Alghabra field a series of questions about what transpired and what accountability there will be. Airlines and VIA Rail also are expected to appear at before the committee. Major storms in Vancouver just prior to Christmas forced WestJet and other airlines to cancel a number of flights. Another storm moved into Ontario Read more

As tourism destinations around the world seek to capture pent up demand for travel, Travel Manitoba wants to remind people that travelling in Manitoba is about more than just a place. Whether it’s viewing the northern lights dancing in the sky, participating in an authentic Indigenous experience or visiting a world-class museum, Manitoba’s refreshed tourism brand conjures up the emotions that these experiences create. “Manitoba is open for business, and there is no better time to showcase Manitoba as a world-class destination of choice for travellers from Manitoba, Canada and around the world,” Premier Heather Stefanson said. “With an abundance Read more

Canadian airlines could soon face tougher rules for delays and cancellations, a top official in the Justin Trudeau government says. Speaking in the wake of a bad bout of holiday travel chaos that left hundreds of Canadians stranded over Christmas and New Year’s, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra says the country’s recently-updated air passenger protection rules could be in for more changes that would help consumers. Alghabra told the CBC he’s looking at rules that would put the onus on airlines to deal with complaints, and not force consumers to file complaints with the Canadian Transport Agency (CTA). “Last summer and Read more