Q COSTARICA – The four main airlines in Canada: Air Canada, WestJet, Sunwing, and Transat agreed to cancel all their flights to Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, including Costa Rica, until April 30, 2021.
Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, made the announcement of the cancellation of air service to sun destination starting this Sunday, January 31, and until April 30.
The Costa Rican tourism board – the Instituto Costarricense de Turismo (ICT) – indicated that it takes the news with due respect for the sovereignty of countries and the freedom of companies to take care of their own finances and collaborators in times of pandemic, understanding that measures change in moments, always safeguarding people’s health.
“We remain hopeful for the future, working to recover as many air routes as possible within this reality that imposes daily changes and that we must overcome together as a tourism industry,” it indicated.
Travel to Canada
Prime Minister Trudeau also announced beginning next week, all international flights into Canada will only be allowed to land in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, and Montreal.
And in February, there will be a second mandatory COVID-19 test for arriving passengers. As they await the result, they will be required to wait in quarantine for three days at a supervised hotel. The stay will cost CA$2,000 per person – which includes the cost of private tests and the hotel stay.
If they receive a negative test result, they can go home to quarantine with enhanced supervision, which Trudeau says includes private security, which his government has recently hired. But if the test is positive, they will be taken to a government facility.
This after the Canadian Federal Government announced a series of measures to restrict its borders against the new variants of Covid-19.
“These decisions are not made lightly and are informed, effective decisions that take in all factors and their consequences. My priority is to protect Canadians,” said the prime minister.
The Canadian Press reported restrictions on flights from the Caribbean and Mexico announced Friday are likely to trigger bankruptcies in Canada’s airline sector and force permanent closures for airports and travel agencies, aviation experts say.
