Airlines
Sunwing: A Necessary Decision
In a statement issued following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s announcement on Jan. 29, Sunwing said that: “Further to the Government of Canada’s announcement this morning (Jan. 29), Sunwing, along with all other major Canadian airlines and tour operators, has made the decision to suspend flights to all sun destinations until April 30, 2021.” The company indicated that: “This decision was not made lightly but something we deemed necessary as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and is based on ongoing collaboration with the government and the Canadian aviation...
Canada’s Carriers Agree To Suspend Sun Flights
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced this morning that Canada’s four major airlines – Air Canada, WestJet, Sunwing and Transat – are “stepping up” and have agreed to suspend service to sun destinations immediately. The suspension covers the period of Jan. 31 to April 30. The Prime Minister also confirmed that there will be additional measures implemented that will include an additional compulsory COVID-19 PCR test for passengers arriving in Canada and they will be required to wait for those test results for a minimum of three days in Health Canada-approved...
Transat Suspends Toronto Winter Season Flights
Citing the continued travel restrictions and the numerous measures imposed by the federal government -- including the requirement to present a negative COVID-19 test and to quarantine upon return to Canada – Transat said it is suspending all flights out of Toronto for the remainder of the winter season (Jan. 28 to April 30, 2021). The company said that the restrictions have had “a significant impact on our bookings, and as a result, “we must, therefore, revise our winter flight schedule, as we have been doing since the beginning of the pandemic, based on the evolution of the...
Britain Implementing Hotel Quarantines
As the federal and provincial governments in Canada continue to look at new travel restrictions designed to keep Canadians at home, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced that UK Nationals and residents returning from COVID-19 hotspots – including South Africa, Portugal and South American destinations -- would be required to quarantine in hotels provided by the government. However, it will take some time for the new quarantine measures to come into effect, as the Prime Minister indicated that the accommodations still have to be made ready and that the department of health...
IATA Looks To Partner With Governments On Restart
IATA is calling on governments to partner with the air transport industry to devise plans to safely re-link people, business and economies when the COVID-19 epidemiological situation permits. The industry association indicated that a priority for this critical cooperation is acceleration of the establishment of global standards for vaccination and testing certification. Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s director general and CEO, said that: “We can see the light at the end of the tunnel as vaccination programs roll out. Turning this vision into a safe and orderly re-start will require...
EU Set To Provide Slot Relief For Airlines
The EU says that it’s preparing new temporary rules to help air carriers cope with the drastic decline in air traffic caused by the Coronavirus crisis and avoid operating empty flights. Ambassadors of member states have now agreed on a negotiating mandate for granting airlines relief from airport slot use requirements for summer 2021, while taking initial measures to start relaunching the industry and encourage competition. The new rules will also give flexibility to adapt to different scenarios and allow for measures to be taken up to the summer 2022 scheduling...
Airline Influencer Conversations Post Staggering Gains
GlobalData is reporting what it describes as a “staggering” 100% year-on-year rise in influencer conversations on Airlines Influencer dashboard during the fourth quarter of 2020. Against this backdrop, British Airways emerged as the most mentioned airline operator in the UK among influencer conversations on Twitter during the period, The data and analytics company also reported that the UK registered highest number of influencer conversations on Twitter related to aviation industry, followed by the US, Australia, India and Canada. American Airlines was the top operator in the US...
Industry Needs To Be At The Table: TIAC
The head of the Canadian Airports Council is questioning whether Ottawa should have a blanket approach when it comes to people arriving in this country during the coronavirus pandemic. Daniel-Robert Gooch told a Tuesday Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) webinar that there's a uniform policy in place for arrivals, even though the countries they're coming from may have very different levels of success when it comes to coping with coronavirus. This country needs to "be more nimble in how we evaluate risk," said Gooch, wondering whether someone arriving here from New Zealand...