All passengers boarding international flights to Canada will have their temperatures checked at their departing airports.

Screening for passengers on domestic flights and for those travelling from Canada to other countries will be in place at the country's four largest airports by the end of July, followed by the next 11 largest airports by the end of September.

Screening will be conducted at security checkpoints by Canadian Air Transport Security Authority staff. If a first check finds a would-be traveler has a fever, his or her temperature will be taken again in 10 minutes. Anyone found with a fever in both checks will not be allowed to fly unless they have a medical document providing a rationale.Passengers prevented from boarding will have the opportunity to re book their flights at no extra cost — as long as the re booked flight departs at least 14 days later.Transport Minister

We have ALL the latest updates to help you plan your next flight.

Most Caribbean islands have reopened to international tourism, and several islands have begun adopting two-track entry regulations for vaccinated and unvaccinated travelers. Here are the latest developments for travel from the U.S. to each Caribbean country.

Italy's Alitalia will halt operations effective Oct. 15 and has stopped selling tickets for any dates after Oct. 14.

Beginning September 24, 2021, Turkish Airlines will be flying to Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, making it the 11thU.S. gateway. The airline will offer four flights per week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday) between Istanbul and the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), its 327th global destination and the second gateway in the “Lone Star State,” following Houston.

President Joe Biden and U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson have agreed to establish a U.K.-U.S. Expert's Working Group geared toward reopening international travel.

CALGARY — In anticipation of travel’s return, WestJet has launched a new seven-part video series that highlights how travel will be different and what guests can do to prepare for their journey.

Fully-vaccinated Canadians will no longer be required to stay in a hotel quarantine or to self-isolate for 14-days.

The changes to Canada’s border restrictions were announced Wednesday at a news conference with Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc, Health Minister Patty Hajdu, Minister of Public Services and Procurement Anita Anand and public health officials.

Friday could be a red-letter day for the Canadian travel industry, regarding border restrictions.

After, as Open Jaw reported, PM Justin Trudeau revealed the federal government is taking steps towards a phased border reopening beginning with vaccinated travellers,

B.C. Premier John Horgan says premiers have been working on a plan to restart travel between the United States and Canada.

HALIFAX — Some Canadian airlines and flight crew members say they’re prepared for the resumption of air travel in Canada despite reports of increased in-flight disturbances.

Air Line Pilots Association Canada president Timothy Perry says flight crews have noticed an increase in unruly behaviour since the start of the pandemic but airline training and protocols should be enough to mitigate any issues.

You’ve read the scathing headlines, you’ve scoffed at the prices, you’ve Facebook’d about constitutional rights.

But how well do you really know Canada’s mandatory hotel quarantine program for international travellers?

When Breeze Airways took to the skies on May 27, that meant that two discount U.S. airlines launched in the spring that follows a devastating year for commercial aviation.

But while Breeze and the new Avelo Airlines doubtlessly hope for successful launches, buoyed by the surging demand of the domestic U.S. leisure travel market, they face a challenging road ahead, said aviation analyst Bob Mann of R.W. Mann and Co.

On Wednesday, the European Union announced its decision to reopen its borders to visitors who have been fully vaccinated with an approved vaccine or those who are coming from a list of “safe” countries from a COVID-19 perspective. According to The New York Times, the list of “safe” countries is still be finalized but is expected to be announced by Friday. The new measures could be implemented as early as next week.

American Airlines has expanded the capabilities of its Verifly health pass app to accept vaccine documentation.

JetBlue has put the suspense over the launch of its planned London service to rest.

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The discount carrier will fly daily to both Heathrow and Gatwick airports from New York JFK, answering the longstanding question of where, exactly, it would fly to in the British capital. Heathrow service will lead the way, beginning Aug. 11. Gatwick will follow Sept. 29.

Advice from the Public Health Agency of Canada is catching up with a growing trend among some Canadians.

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​And it could open a floodgate of cross-border traffic for many more looking to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

Hopes for an imminent reopening of the Canada-U.S. border were dashed this week. Just days before the closure agreement was set to expire, Ottawa announced an extension by one month, to 21JUN.

TORONTO — New reports suggest that talks are underway about the reopening of the Canada-U.S. border – but whether those talks could lead to the border reopening this summer, or are the same routine check-ins that Canada and U.S. officials have maintained throughout the 14-month COVID-19 border closure, is anyone’s guess.

Qantas has pushed back by a few months its planned restart of international flights to the end of the year, based on a newly revised Covid-19 vaccine rollout timeline from the Australian government, the carrier announced.

The carrier now expects to resume international service in late December, when the government anticipates it will have completed the country's vaccine rollout. Qantas previously was targeting late October to resume the service. The government now plans the larger reopening of Australia's borders in mid-2022, but Qantas plans to "take advantage of pockets of tourism and trade opportunity as they emerge" in the meantime, according to a statement from the carrier.

In a sign that travel may be returning to pre-pandemic trends, a new report from Expedia Group Media Solutions said traditional factors such as cost and convenience are gaining as factors in the purchase of air travel.

The company's first quarterly trend report includes data and insights from custom research along with Expedia Group travel intent and demand data.

With more travelers taking to the sky, airfare surged in April by 13.1% compared with March, according to Consumer Price Index (CPI) data. A portion of that increase was the result of normal seasonal changes in air ticket prices. But even when seasonality is accounted for, prices in April were 10.2% higher than March.

Leaders of 23 global travel companies and organizations have sent President Biden a letter urging greater progress toward reopening international travel and warning of dire economic consequences if U.S. borders remain shut.

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The letter, signed Tuesday by the U.S. Travel Association, Airlines for America and the top executives of 21 hotel, airline and cruise companies, reiterated an industry call for establishment by the end of May of a public-private taskforce to develop a risk-based, data-driven roadmap for safely reopening international travel to the U.S.

Alaska Airlines will make Belize the fourth foreign country it flies to, joining Canada, Mexico and Costa Rica.

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The carrier said Wednesday that it will put tickets on sale in early June for Belize City, hinting that service will be offered from more than one of its West Coast hubs of Seattle, Portland, San Francisco and Los Angeles. However, Alaska has not provided specific route information.

International travelers can now use Covid-19 home tests to meet the U.S. reentry requirement.

The CDC made the change on May 7.

Delta will offer service to Croatia for the first time this summer.

The carrier's flights from New York JFK to Dubrovnik will depart four times weekly beginning July 2.

Canada is banning passenger flights from India and Pakistan for 30 days amid concerns over rising COVID-19 cases and a new virus mutation, says Transport Minister Omar Alghabra.

Digital identity systems based on biometrics are on the rise and nowhere more quickly than the air travel industry.

United Airlines is preparing for a return to profitability this year with or without a significant return of business travel, though executives for now are betting on the former.

Curacao has added an entry requirement for U.S. travelers, and Saba will welcome U.S. visitors starting on May 1 but with different rules for vaccinated and unvaccinated travelers.

During the height of the pandemic lockdown, I recall telling a friend that I'd be so happy to get travel again that I wouldn't even complain if I got stuck in the last row of coach.

Silly, delusional me.

Effective April 28, travelers arriving in Puerto Rico without a negative PCR test will be charged a $300 fine and will be required to obtain a molecular PCR test on the island within 48 hours of arrival.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The State Department on Monday urged Americans reconsider any international travel they may have planned and said it would issue specific warnings not to visit roughly 80% of the world's countries due to risks from the coronavirus pandemic.

Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian is optimistic that travel between the U.S. and the U.K. will reopen for the summer travel season. But he's less bullish on travel to the remainder of Europe, as well as Asia and South America.

"Hopefully, early summer we will see that market open," Bastian said during the carrier's earnings call on Thursday, noting that Delta is working with the broader travel and hospitality sectors in pushing for a U.S.-U.K. travel corridor. "We're making progress in that regard."

Leaving middle seats on aircraft open reduces passengers' exposure to Covid-19 by 23% to 57%, according to a CDC study released Wednesday. 

The findings come as Delta Air Lines, the final U.S. airline blocking middle seats, prepares to end that practice at the end of the month. 

However, authors stress that the study charts Covid-19 exposure risk, not transmission risk, and it does not consider the impact of mask-wearing.

Keeping up with the ever-changing entry requirements for Hawaii hasn’t been easy during the pandemic. But that hasn’t deterred throngs of tourists from forging ahead with travel plans, especially to the island of Maui.

Spring has officially sprung, and the warmer weather and school breaks are bringing out U.S. travelers in pandemic-era record numbers. COVID-19 vaccination rollouts throughout the states have built up some real momentum and those that have already been inoculated impatient to take the vacations they’ve put off for the past year. Luckily, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has just released new guidance for fully vaccinated Americans in which the agency states that those who’ve received a full course of the COVID-19 vaccine can travel safely within the U.S.

That’s great news for the already-immunized, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that travel restrictions in individual states don’t still apply to everyone else. The U.S. is actually seeing infection numbers rise again nationwide, and another surge could be imminent, despite the air of optimism that vaccine distribution has inspired. Ahead, we take a look at which states have dropped their defenses against interstate visitors and which are maintaining certain requirements for out-of-state travelers as we head into April.

Good news for those itching to travel in 2021 and are already fully vaccinated or are in the process of doing so: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says Americans who are fully vaccinated can travel “at low risk to themselves,” both domestically and internationally. According to the new CDC Domestic Travel During COVID-19 guidance, fully vaccinated travelers must continue to take precautions, such as wearing a face mask in public, maintaining social distancing and washing hands frequently.

Following up on his warning that Canada’s border rules could change at any time, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday (Jan. 29) announced new measures aimed at restricting international travel and preventing variants of COVID-19 from entering the country.

Airlines were graded in three categories: COVID-19 safety protocols, traveler convenience, and service excellence.

Out of the 39 North American airlines assessed, Delta Air Lines was ranked number one in North America with a Safe Travel Score of 4.1 out of 5. Since the pandemic began, Delta has implemented various in-flight cleaning measures through its Delta CareStandard program, and has partnered with medical and sanitization experts.

Delta has also blocked adjacent or middle seats through January 2021, to ensure adequate distance between passengers.

Pack food, a reusuable water bottle and hand sanitizer in your carry-on. The TSA relaxed its liquid rule for hand sanitizers container as big as 12 ounces instead of the usual 3.4-ounce limit in their caryy-on bag.

It’s reasonable to assume that most of us don’t take advice from those without experience. Thankfully if you’re looking to travel during Covid-19, you don’t have to fret because there are plenty of advisors who “have been there and done that” recently and are willing to share all they’ve learned.

“I had the pleasure of travelling with Sunwing from Toronto to Cancun this weekend,” said Dr. Nord. “The journey was seamless from check-in and boarding to the flight and resort arrival.

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The high Canadian standards that Sunwing has implemented are evident through every step of the vacation journey.

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I can confidently say that, with the Safe with Sunwing commitment in place, Canadians can travel with peace of mind.”

The Government of Canada announced new requirements on Monday (Nov. 2) for travellers arriving in Canada.

These new requirements are in addition to the requirement to provide specific information before and after entering Canada - including a quarantine plan and contact and travel information.

News release

December 31, 2020         Ottawa         Government of Canada

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a global crisis that is having a significant impact on the air industry and all travellers. The Government of Canada has multiple measures in place to protect the health and safety of Canadians, and to help prevent air travel from being a source of further introduction and spread of COVID-19 and new variants of the virus into Canada.

"Outbound Filipino travelers shall likewise follow the Guidelines of the National Task Force (NTF) for returning overseas Filipinos," the statement further read. 

The resolution also ammended guidelines on domestic air travel, revising the time period required between a negative RT-PCR test result and travel to Boracay Island which reopened to tourists this month. "The Test-Before-Travel requirement now stands not earlier than 72 hours prior to the date of travel," a more lenient adjustment compared to the prior 48 hour requirement.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is continuing to demonstrate that the risk of passengers contracting COVID-19 on a plane is low. 

The association has kept a running tally of published cases from the outset of the pandemic. 

Since the start of 2020, there have been 44 cases of COVID-19 reported in which transmission is thought to have been associated with a flight journey (inclusive of confirmed, probable and potential cases). Over the same period some 1.2 billion passengers have travelled.

TORONTO — Sunwing has announced it will resume flights on Nov. 6, 2020 with departures to Mexico, Jamaica, the D.R. and Costa Rica.​

Here’s a look at the Toronto schedule:

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• Toronto departures to Punta Cana on Fridays and Sundays starting Nov. 6

• Toronto departures to Cancun on Saturdays and Sundays starting Nov. 7

• Toronto departures to Montego Bay on Fridays and Saturdays  starting Nov. 6

• Toronto departures to Liberia, Costa Rica on Mondays starting Nov. 30

And here’s the schedule from Montreal:

• Montreal departures to Punta Cana on Fridays and Saturdays Nov. 6 – Dec. 5

• Montreal departures to Cancun on Fridays and Sundays Nov. 6 – Dec. 6

• Montreal departures to Montego Bay on Saturdays Nov. 7 – Dec. 5

As the pandemic stretches on and many planes remain grounded, one thing is becoming clear: People really miss flying. Flights to nowhere, in which planes take off and land at the same airport, are consistently selling out, and even just listening to airline boarding music has been a comfort to some formerly frequent fliers.

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Now Singapore Airlines is giving would-be passengers another opportunity to recreate the air travel experience. For two days in October the carrier is converting one of its grounded Airbus A380 planes into a pop-up restaurant at Singapore's Changi airport.

ACV’s Toronto flights to Cuba re-start Sept. 26

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TORONTO — ACV’s return to Cuba gets another gateway this weekend with the tour operator’s first post-pandemic flight from Toronto to Cayo Coco.

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ACV began flying between Montreal and Cayo Coco earlier this month. The Toronto flights are scheduled to start Sept. 26.

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“The first flight out of Toronto will take place this Saturday, September 26, 2020 and we cannot be happier,” says Lessner Gomez, Director of The Cuba Tourist Board in Toronto.

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GENEVA — IATA is calling for the development and deployment of rapid, accurate, affordable, easy-to-operate, scalable and systematic COVID-19 testing for all passengers before departure as an alternative to quarantine measures in order to re-establish global air connectivity.

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IATA says it will work through the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and with health authorities to implement this solution quickly.

IATA notes that international travel is 92% down compared to 2019 levels.

WestJet passengers in Vancouver may soon be taking COVID-19 tests before takeoff.

WestJet Airlines Ltd. and Vancouver International Airport announced on Friday plans for a pilot project to test passengers for the coronavirus on some departing flights, the latest move in a broader push by carriers to show they are serious about combatting viral spread as they try to coax Canadians back to the skies.

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The pilot, slated for this fall, will share data with government and health authorities and incorporate academics “to marry our expertise in passenger movements to science,” WestJet CEO Ed Sims said in a blog post co-authored by Vancouver Airport Authority CEO Tamara Vrooman.

New guidance issued by the International Civil Aviation Organisation says passengers should have restricted access to toilets as airlines start to relaunch flights.

One toilet should be set aside for crew and passengers should use a designated WC based on their seat number, said the UN body.

Ryanair has already said that it will ban queuing for toilets, with passengers forced to ask crew for permission to use the lavatory.

Food and drink services should also be suspended or limited on short-haul flights or sold in pre-sealed packs, said ICAO.

Duty-free sales should be temporarily limited as part of the wide-ranging coronavirus safety recommendations, it added.

 

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All passengers boarding international flights to Canada will have their temperatures checked at their departing airports.

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Screening for passengers on domestic flights and for those travelling from Canada to other countries will be in place at the country's four largest airports by the end of July, followed by the next 11 largest airports by the end of September.

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Screening will be conducted at security checkpoints by Canadian Air Transport Security Authority staff. If a first check finds a would-be traveler has a fever, his or her temperature will be taken again in 10 minutes. Anyone found with a fever in both checks will not be allowed to fly unless they have a medical document providing a rationale.

Passengers prevented from boarding will have the opportunity to re book their flights at no extra cost — as long as the re booked flight departs at least 14 days later.Transport Minister

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How Clean Is the Air on Planes?

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Millions of travelers are understandably concerned about flying in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak. One of the paramount issues is determining if the air on planes hastens the spread of infection.

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The Centres for Disease Control is blunt about flying during the age of the coronavirus. “Travel increases your chances of getting and spreading COVID-19,” says a page for travelers on the CDC's website.

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