International Air Travel Into Canada and How COVID-19 Changed It

By Parker Barach

Before the pandemic hit, it was very easy to travel from country to country for both business and recreation but now, travel has been limited to essential only. In Canada specifically, as of November 30, 2020 those who are travelling from outside of the country, must quarantine for 2 weeks without symptoms of COVID-19 that include shortness of breath, sore throat, loss of taste and smell, etc. This page will highlight the specific changes in international air travel from March until early December 2020.

On March 16, 2020 CPAC, or the Cable Public Affairs Channel shared a video and short article about a press conference that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hosted outside of his home in Ottawa. In this conference, Trudeau looks directly into the camera and tells Canadians abroad that it was time to “come home”. The Prime Minister added that the Canadian government would be tightening up restrictions on air travel into Canada. He explained that non-residents and non-citizens of Canada would not be allowed into the country with the exception of diplomats, U.S. citizens, air crews and immediate family members of Canadian citizens. Trudeau also announced that the Canadian government would be limiting international flights into four of Canada’s largest airports, Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver. This was quite startling for many Canadians who had been abroad either for school or vacation as March Break had started 3 days before on Friday, March 13. The news was very quickly changing, only 3 days before the CPAC article was published, The Globe and Mail reported that Justin Trudeau and other members of the government were urging Canadians to avoid non-essential travel because closing the borders had “not-yet been ruled out”. At this time, the idea of international travel seemed risky, but still possible to many Canadians. There was little to no science about how COVID-19 was transmitting and it was hard for the average Canadian to understand the severity of the virus itself. 

When international travellers arrive in Canada, there are a number of things that need to be done before they can actually leave the airport. According to the Government of Canada website as of December 4, 2020, travellers will be asked a number of questions after arriving including their whereabouts for the past 14 days, who they have been exposed to, if they are feeling any cold or flu like symptoms and much more. This process can be expedited by the ArriveCAN app or website in which travellers can give all of their information for contact tracing ahead of time. Another obstacle that international travellers face when entering Canada is a mandatory 14 day quarantine. In this quarantine period, travellers must have private access to bathroom facilities, food, water and other basic necessities. The word private is very important because often, travellers can be easily exposed to other members of their household when going to the bathroom or cooking. It is strongly encouraged by the government that those entering Canada arrange their accommodations ahead of time and if it is not possible because of space or other factors, the government has created quarantine facilities for travellers to use for their quarantine periods.

Since March, the Canadian Government has kept pretty consistent views on international air travel and how it should be avoided at all costs. Throughout the pandemic, the government has given many extensions to the restrictions on international air travel. Usually these extensions come in about 4 or 5 week periods and are used to deter Canadians from leaving for non-essential purposes. The last extension that was given by the government of Canada was released on November 29, 2020. In an article written by CBC, the extension is highlighted as an addition to the already existing order that was released on March 16. The new extension states that until December 21, 2020, diplomats, U.S. citizens, air crews and immediate family members of Canadian citizens can travel into the country but must adhere to the aforementioned Quarantine Act which gives Canadian health officials the right to impose rules related to disease prevention in the country.

International airlines took a significant hit during the pandemic, especially in its early days. Because of the limiting restrictions put into place by many countries on international travel, including Canada, many companies were forced to temporarily lay off a significant number of employees. These people included pilots, air traffic control, flight attendants and many other employees throughout the corporation. In an article written by CBC that was released in May 2020, it was said that Canadian airline company, Air Canada planned to lay off at least half of their employees as the travel industry crashed. This worked out to be about 20,000 people (mostly Canadian) who were left without jobs. It is important to note that this is one airline and that many companies did this globally as well.

In summation, so many parts of our world have been affected by COVID-19 this year. It has hurt so many industries including travel. Air travel was once a connector for the world. It intertwined us in a way that I doubt will return for a very long time because of the pandemic. With the rise of meeting technology such as Zoom, Google Hangouts and Microsoft Teams, there is less of a need for people to travel for business and even recreation because they are now able to see their family members virtually with much less stress. It is important that we recognize the changes that have occurred in the air travel industry and change them in the future for the better and common goal of safety and protection for Canadians.

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Woman sitting on a plane reading while wearing PPE. June 2020.

Justin Trudeau addressing the nation from outside of his home. March 2020.

Woman Staring Out of Building. November 2019.

Grounded airplane. May, 2016.

Air Canada flight. May, 2018.