Travel industry ‘in tailspin’ as federal government adopts new COVID-19 test rules

A group representing independent travel agents in Canada says the federal government has thrown their industry into a “tailspin” with new rules requiring a COVID-19 test before Canadians are allowed back into the country from international travel.

The Association of Canadian Independent Travel Advisors (ACITA) says in a statement the timing of Transport Minister Marc Garneau’s announcement on New Year’s Eve could not have been worse because many agents had closed their offices for the holiday long weekend.

Garneau announced last Thursday that air travellers overseas will have to present proof of a negative molecular test – known as a PCR test, conducted with a nasal swab — that was taken within 72 hours of departure unless such testing is unavailable.

ACITA says customers who had planned international travel during the holidays were not given sufficient opportunity to cancel or adjust their trips.

Calgary travel agent Janez Law, whose agency specializes in arranging travel to Asia, says a client in the Philippines is planning a six-hour bus trip to the capital, Manila, to get the required test to ensure she is allowed back into Canada when she returns on Thursday.

The ACITA statement says most clients are willing to accept an additional cost related to travel during the pandemic, but fear they could face “being gouged” to get the required testing.

The association was started last spring in part to lobby for government assistance for the industry due to challenges of the pandemic.

The Transport Department has yet to provide a list of foreign agencies whose tests are considered acceptable or to establish how airline employees should determine whether a test certificate is valid, said National Airlines Council of Canada chief executive Mike McNaney.

“With less than a week to implement, we do not have the interim orders in writing – it’s from the interim orders that you base your operations and obligations,” he said.

McNaney said the new rule, which mandates a 14-day quarantine in Canada regardless of the test result, will cause uncertainty and “frustration” for carriers and passengers alike.