New COVID-19 testing guidelines might trigger ‘chaos’ at Canadian airports: trade teams – Nationwide

Canada’s plan to require COVID-19 exams for all however U.S. arrivals on worldwide flights dangers inflicting “chaos” and lengthy traces if all passengers are anticipated to get examined at airports, trade teams stated.

The transfer, introduced Tuesday, comes because the journey season kicks into gear and will stretch airport sources in addition to testing holiday-makers’ endurance, they stated.

Daniel Gooch, president of the Canadian Airports Council, stated airports can’t check all abroad arrivals on-site with out lengthy wait instances.

“Do we actually need individuals ready for hours for a check in a customs corridor?” he requested by cellphone on Wednesday.

“We need to keep away from chaos. And we need to be sure that vacationers who’ve booked journeys are snug to journey.”

Canada on Tuesday stated it’s going to require individuals arriving internationally by air, besides from the USA, to take a COVID-19 check, searching for to halt the unfold of the Omicron variant.

At present, solely randomly chosen passengers from worldwide flights are examined at airports by personal firms the federal government contracts.

The announcement got here because the nation’s aviation sector, battered by the pandemic, had been trying ahead to a stronger vacation season this yr.

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Omicron variant journey rule considerations

Canadian public well being authorities didn’t say Wednesday when the coverage will come into impact, who will administer the exams or whether or not the exams shall be administered on-site or by way of take-home kits.

Airports are pushing for the latter.

Tori Gass, a spokesperson for Toronto’s Pearson Worldwide Airport – Canada’s largest – stated in an e mail that “a mixture of onsite and off-airport testing have to be thought-about to accommodate the amount of exams contemplated.”

Some vacationers, in the meantime, who had rushed to e book journeys amid loosening restrictions simply weeks earlier than, had been having second ideas.

“I do know varied purchasers who’ve determined to cancel and at the moment are taking a look at what refunds they’ll be capable to get,” stated Marty Firestone with Journey Safe insurance coverage, including that the journey panorama had been getting higher.

“Now we’ve taken two steps again,” he stated.

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