Flight ban to Canada from U.K. expires

OTTAWA • Canada’s ban on flights from the United Kingdom is not being extended, replaced by a stringent COVID-19 testing program for air travellers.

Canada halted most air travel from the U.K., where a mutated strain of COVID-19 was discovered, on Dec. 20.

New rules that require passengers returning from abroad to show proof of negative COVID-19 test results will prevent the virus from bleeding across borders, Transport Minister Marc Garneau said.

Effective Thursday, passengers five and older must take a PCR test — the type of test common in Canada involving a deep nasal swab, distinct from a rapid test.

The test has to be administered less than 72 hours before the scheduled departure, or 96 hours in the cases of 28 countries and territories, mainly in the Caribbean and South America, Garneau said at a virtual press conference. The four- day time frame for those 28 jurisdictions shrinks to three days as of Jan. 14, however.

Airlines say they were not initially consulted on the testing scheme, which they will be responsible for enforcing at check- in counters around the globe.

Cabinet ministers appealed to Canadians to stay on home turf as coronavirus case counts reach new daily highs, and as some federal and provincial politicians take heat and lose jobs over holiday trips abroad.

“We strongly, strongly, strongly recommend to avoid all non-essential travel outside of Canada,” said Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-philippe Champagne.

“Canadians are understandably concerned and upset about these travellers,” added Public Safety Minister Bill Blair. “There is not just a legal obligation but a moral one ... Lives are at stake. We have already lost far too many people.”

Airlines and passengers have raised concerns about testing capacity in some countries, with the fear that some travellers could wind up stranded overseas.

“We consider that it is perfectly reasonable within 72 hours to get the PCR test and to get results” — electronically or on paper — Garneau told reporters.

But Health Minister Patty Hajdu acknowledged the requirement is a deterrent.

“This is exactly why we are advising people not to travel internationally,” she said. “The reality is they may find it difficult even in countries that have the PCR testing capacity to acquire a test within the required time frame.”

Airlines are scrambling to draw up lists of overseas agencies and test centres for travellers to use, though Garneau said Transport Canada may publish a similar list.

Conservative transport critic Stephanie Kusie called the plan “unacceptable.”

“The Liberal government has imposed a poorly thought out testing requirement with little information and few resources to execute,” Kusie said in a statement.