The Canadian government is temporarily halting random COVID-19 testing of incoming international passengers at Canadian airports. Random testing at airports will be temporarily suspended at all airports starting on Saturday, June 11 until June 30, for those who are fully vaccinated, according to a joint statement fromTourism Minister Randy Boissonnault, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos and Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino. 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 Read more
Omar Alghabra
Wait times for security continue to decrease at all major airports, and only three per cent of all passengers at Pearson and Vancouver International Airport are now waiting more than 30 minutes in line, the Trudeau government said in a statement today. Omar Alghabra, Minister of Transport, Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Health, Marco Mendicino, Minister of Public Safety, and Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance, issued this statement today to provide an update on actions the Government of Canada and industry partners are taking to reduce wait times at Canadian airports: “The Government of Canada recognizes Read more
Toronto Mayor John Tory has joined the chorus of critics who are blasting Toronto Pearson Airport over flight delays and congestion. “The situation at the airport is not acceptable at it presently it. It’s just not acceptable,” Tory said Tuesday at a press conference. “This is not just a Toronto problem. (Pearson) is the gateway to all of Canada.” A video about Pearson delays posted by former NHL player Ryan Whitney went viral earlier this week. In his video, which has garnered more than 2 million views on Twitter, Whitney describes how his flight to Boston was cancelled and how Read more
The Trudeau government says it’s adding more airport screening officers and customs workers to help ease congestion at Canada’s crowded airports. Senior federal ministers issued a statement late Friday to say that the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) “has been working with its contractors to increase the number of screening officers at passenger screening checkpoints. Currently, there are approximately 400 additional screening officers in different phases of their training across the country who will be deployed between now and the end of June.” With Transport Canada’s support, “these recruits will benefit from progressing more quickly through a more flexible Read more
The Trudeau government say the majority of non-compliant passengers on a rowdy Sunwing flight in late December of last year have been fined. Following Transport Canada’s investigation into the Montréal-Cancun flight of December 30, 2021, the agency announced today that it has issued a total of 42 penalties to 37 of the 154 passengers, including 18 penalties for non-compliance of vaccination status, and 24 penalties for not respecting instructions to wear a mask. The total value of these penalties, which could reach a maximum of $5,000 each, is $59,500. The December 30 flights sparked outrage and headlines around the world Read more
