Air Canada Welcomes Decision to Scrap Pre-Departure Testing

(18 Mar 2022, 11:18 +07)  Air Canada has welcomed the Government of Canada's announcement to remove pre-departure testing requirements from 1 April 2022 for fully vaccinated travellers entering the country.

The airline has gradually expanded its domestic, transborder, European and South Pacific international route networks, to ensure that Canadian travellers have a wide choice of destinations to choose from this summer.

Air Canada is offering new service on four transborder and three domestic routes, restoring 41 North American routes and will operate to 51 Canadian and 46 U.S. airports.

Air Canada A330 reg: C-GHLM. Picture by Steven Howard of TravelNewsAsia.com

Internationally, the airline is relaunching 33 routes to Europe, Africa and the Middle East, including popular destinations such as Barcelona, Copenhagen, Madrid, Milan and Venice.

Air Canada is also expanding its South Pacific network with the return of daily services to Sydney and resumption of services to both Brisbane and Auckland.

"The announcement by the federal government is excellent news for the entire travel and tourism industry, which are important contributors to the Canadian economy," said David Rheault, Vice-President, Government and Community Relations at Air Canada. "People are eager to travel and reconnect with their loved ones, and the end of pre-departure testing will provide travellers with more certainty, allowing them to plan their next trip with more confidence and without the worry of incurring additional costs. Canada now joins other countries around the world in reopening and we look ahead to the summer travel season. The removal of pre-departure testing requirements will continue to accelerate and stimulate the recovery of Canada's travel and tourism industry, which we are committed to help rebuild through the restoration of our global network."