Air Canada says the Trudeau Liberals’ COVID-19 travel restrictions were not “justified by science.”
Canada’s national airline on Monday said it welcomes the federal government’s decision to lift remaining COVID-19 restrictions, including the requirement to wear masks on airplanes and for unvaccinated travellers to quarantine for 14 days upon entering the country.
“Air Canada welcomes the removal of these restrictions, acknowledging that air travel is safe and that the measures were not justified by science,” Air Canada said in a statement.
“We believe it will greatly facilitate travel, help to continue stabilizing the country’s air transport sector and support Canada’s economy.”
Canada’s travel and tourism industry long called on Ottawa to drop the remaining travel restrictions that hindered the sector’s pandemic recovery. The measures caused unnecessary impediments for Canadians and created excessive delays at airports.
But the Trudeau Liberals clung to the unscientific restrictions for months — even while Justin Trudeau was jet-setting around the world maskless and hopping on private jets unimpeded by the lengthy delays the rest of travellers experienced at Canadian airports.
In June, Pearson Airport in Toronto gained notoriety when former-NHL player Ryan Whitney called it a “hellhole” for its days-long delays.
While the restrictions are done away with as of Saturday, Trudeau has threatened to reimplement his strict curtailment of Canadians’ civil liberties if citizens don’t receive booster shots.
Air Canada further urged the government “not to lose momentum.”
“Lessons learned during the pandemic should now be applied to streamlining the air transport system in Canada and to enact further reforms,” it said.
“This includes improving processes, such as security and customs at airports, developing new trusted traveller programs, deploying new technologies and, more fundamentally, re-examining the user-pay model that finances air transportation in Canada, whose weaknesses and interdependencies were exposed by COVID.”
