Travel industry in the Maritimes hopeful after feds ease COVID-19 restrictions

As the Omicron variant made its way to Canada, the federal government put out a blanket travel advisory, saying that regardless of vaccination status, Canadians should avoid non-essential international travel. Two months after putting that advisory in place, the Canadian government announced Tuesday that it would be removing that global advisory on Feb. 28.

As it removes the travel advisory, the federal government will also allow more airports to accept international flights, something that many airports haven’t been able to do since March 2020.

“I think it’s a very good announcement,” said Bernard LeBlanc, president and CEO of the Greater Moncton International Airport.

The Moncton airport has had only about 20 per cent of normal activity over the past two years and is eager to be able to start reoffering international service, however, the announcement likely comes too late to salvage the usually busy March break season, with airlines already having cancelled those routes.

“Even if they have aircraft availability, they have to announce a flight, get people to book a flight, hire subcontractors to work at the airport,” said LeBlanc.

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“So I’m not sure how fast they can mobilize but I doubt they can do it in a few weeks.”

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Still, LeBlanc says the airport is optimistic that things can pick up over the summer and they’re hoping to see 50 per cent of normal activity this year. Already airlines have been announcing they’re bringing back more service, with some even announcing new routes.

Earlier this month Swoop announced it would be increasing capacity across the region by 273 per cent compared with pre-pandemic levels, and LeBlanc says they are expecting more announcements from airlines over the coming weeks and months.

“That shows me that there are airlines that are very interested in ramping up activity or trying new things.”

And people are eager to travel.

Travel agent with Maritime Travel Myranda Miller says people had been anticipating a relaxing of restrictions from the federal government and while the start of the year was slow, things have been picking up.

“People are booking. It’s not a dull time. The cancellations are coming to a halt, very few cancellations, lots of booking,” said Miller, adding that “2022 is so much brighter than 2021 or 2020.”

But even as things look bright, many in the travel industry are still calling for the federal government to ease restrictions even further — specifically around COVID-19 testing. While Ottawa will be dropping the pre-arrival PCR test for fully vaccinated travellers as of Feb. 28, travellers will still be required to show a negative antigen test.

“Yes, it’s going to be a money saver but you still have to test in destination before coming home. We’re just a little puzzled as to why,” said Miller.

“Other jurisdictions, particularly in Europe, are lifting the requirement for pre-entry testing altogether and so we would like to be in step with that to make sure Canada isn’t left behind when we come into this upcoming summer tourism season, which is so important to our economy,” said Tiffany Chase, spokesperson for the Halifax International Airport Authority.