Saving Air Canada is essential

Re: Letter, Don't bail out the airlines, Canada, Feb. 8.

Canadian airlines have done their best to greatly reduce the threat of spreading COVID-19 by requiring screening, mandatory testing and quarantining of passengers, mandatory wearing of masks, and limiting onboard service. Airplanes already have high-tech, on-board air circulation systems which greatly reduce airborne viruses.

However, the federal government failed to do its part, and until very recently, passengers were not checked in any meaningful way at major airports in Canada.

Despite COVID, many airlines are still operating in a very limited way as they provide a vital link for business and the public. Many airlines around the world have already gone out of business, and many more, including Canadian airlines, are headed in that direction. Air Canada has already laid off thousands and removed about 100 airplanes from its fleet. Should Air Canada go completely out of business, many Canadian cities would no longer have air service, and the commercial impact on the country would be enormous. Air Canada is the only major (nonstate run) airline in the world that has not yet received financial assistance from its government.

It is past time that Air Canada (and other Canadian airlines) received meaningful financial assistance from the federal government. After all, the government bailed out the automotive industry. Air Canada is a good long-term investment, as it was profitable in the 10 years before COVID, and is very likely to return to profitability after. Robert Arnett, aviation consultant, Ottawa