It didn’t take long for WestJet to express its “strong opposition” to Canada’s new non-essential travel advisory that was unveiled this morning.
The airline issued a statement this afternoon claiming that the advice outlined today “is not based on science and data.”
It also called the measures a setback in Canada’s progress and its successful transition away from the “blanket advisories and policies” that gripped the country for much of the pandemic.
We believe the pathway for safe and fully-vaccinated international air travel must be preserved. Read our statement here: https://t.co/kiFqNzUBXG
— WestJet News (@WestJetNews) December 15, 2021
“Air travel is the most tested and protected consumer activity in Canada, every person travelling internationally is tested on average twice throughout their travel journey,” said Harry Taylor, WestJet’s president and CEO.
“As the only fully-vaccinated air travel sector in the world, WestJet is calling on the government to publicly share the travel related COVID-19 data that has been used to re-impose the advisory and advice targeted towards fully-vaccinated Canadians and the travel and tourism industry.”
Taylor added that WestJet has safely flown more than seven-million guests since the start of the pandemic and air travel has been commended for its commitment to safety.
“Fully-vaccinated Canadians should not be singled-out for choosing to take part in a safe activity,” continued Taylor.
“Travel bans, restrictions and blanket advisories are devastating to the continued economic recovery of our country and place tens of thousands of recently recalled Canadian travel and tourism jobs at risk.”
He also echoed what many Canadians are saying today, that the new advisory will create unnecessary disruption and chaos in advance of the holiday travel season.
When announcing the new non-essential travel advisory this morning, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said bluntly, “now is not the time to travel.”
"The rapid spread of the Omicron variant on a global scale makes us fear the worst for Canadians that may think of travelling,” he added.
The new advisory takes a stronger stance than the one published shortly after the emergence of the Omicron variant, urging Canadians to be aware that travel to an area with Omicron could hamper their ability to return to Canada.
It came after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke with provincial and territorial premiers Tuesday evening to discuss how to respond to Omicron.
If you get value from KelownaNow and believe local independent media is important to our community we ask that you please consider subscribing to our daily newsletter.
If you appreciate what we do, we ask that you consider supporting our local independent news platform.
