New Zealand fans; rejoice. Aotearoa, the “Land of the Long White Cloud,” on Monday fully opened its borders to visitor from the around the world. It’s the first time borders have been fully open since the government slammed the door on visits in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Travel restrictions began to ease in February for New Zealanders, and then were gradually opened for others. As of today, visitors who need visas and those with student visas can enter the country, as can cruise ship passengers and foreign recreational yachts. CTV and Reuters report that most visitors arriving Read more
Vancouver
The Trudeau government says the passport situation is improving, but there’s still work to do. “Canadians deserve access to timely, efficient, and transparent passport delivery services,” said Karina Gould, federal minister for Families, Children and Social Development. “We’re continuing to tackle big challenges in the passport program, and as the summer progresses, thanks to the hard work of Service Canada staff, we continue to see improvements in service delivery. “We are starting to put a dent in the backlog,” Gould said. “Last week, the number of passports issued was higher than at any point since before the pandemic, at 54,312. Read more
Toronto Pearson Airport officials say they need more staffing, better technology and fewer health restrictions to end the lineup nightmare wait times at security and customs. Travellers are returning to Pearson and other Canadian airports in droves, and airport officials across the country are struggling to keep up with demand. Staffing shortages have been an issue in Vancouver, Toronto and other cities. The Greater Toronto Airports Authority says fliers are “facing bottlenecks and very lengthy delays” and that it understands the frustrations that travellers are feeling. The authority says it needs several changes to be made, including changes to public Read more
Forbes has a great item today about what countries in Europe are open for visitors. I’ve also got items on the resumption of cruise ship travel in Canada, passengers behaving badly, the resumption of Transat flights to Italy, a nice story on Ottawa and news about suspended flights between Vancouver and India. WHAT COUNTRIES ARE OPEN IN EUROPE Many European Union countries, including the UK and Ireland, have entirely done away with COVID-19 travel restrictions for non-EU travelers. Others, however, still have restrictions in place. Continue reading the Forbes story here. AND WHAT’S OPEN IN THE CARIBBEAN, TOO Travelweek has Read more
Air Canada today announced a strategic expansion of its South Pacific schedule with the return of daily service to Sydney and resumption of services to both Brisbane and Auckland. Air Canada’s Australia and New Zealand flights operate from its trans-Pacific hub at Vancouver International Airport. which the carrier has built to conveniently connect its international network to its vast North American network. Seats are available for purchase now at aircanada.com, via the Air Canada App, Air Canada’s Contact Centres, and travel agents. Australia re-opened its borders last month. New Zealand on Monday said they’ll reopen to international visitors from visa Read more
