Confusion at Canadian airports: Few details on COVID-19 testing rules for travellers
Confusion has been growing at some Canadian airports that say they want more direction from the federal government since it changed COVID-19 testing rules for travellers.
As health officials from around the world warned about the new Omicron variant, Ottawa announced earlier this week that all air passengers entering Canada, except those from the United States, need to be tested upon arrival and isolate until they get their results.
The rule also applies to those who are fully vaccinated against the virus.
But there have been few details on when testing will start.
Giovanni Taboylilson said he was tired and puzzled after arriving Thursday at Edmonton International Airport from Jamaica. He said he was told by airport officials during his layover in Toronto that new rules were kicking in at midnight
He said he was randomly selected for a test in Toronto, was told his results would be available in three days, and was allowed to continue to Edmonton.
“They stamped my passport and let me go through, so that's what made no sense,” the 25-year-old DJ said after visiting his family in Jamaica for eight months.
Taboylilson, who is fully vaccinated, said he tested negative in Jamaica before boarding his flight and wasn't told to get tested again or to quarantine once he arrived in Edmonton while waiting for his results.
Toronto's Pearson International Airport was telling travellers on Twitter that it was still waiting for more details on the new requirements.
“This new mandate has not yet been made official by our Federal Government,” the airport said on Twitter in response to a person's question about whether her husband would undergo testing and have to isolate after arriving in Canada.
“We are awaiting information as to when and how this will be executed.”
In Edmonton, an airport spokesman said staff are in talks with Transport Canada, which is working to bring in testing for all travellers as soon as possible.
“We don't have a set date for when testing will start, but we anticipate it will begin in the next several days,” Steve Maybee said in an email.
Lumturige Hijrullahu, who was travelling to Los Angeles from Edmonton, said she was confused because of changing regulations and unclear directions from the government.
“I'm not sure what we have to do when I'm back,” said Hijrullahu.
She said she's frustrated because she doesn't know what she will do when she returns in a week.
“If I knew it was going to be like this, (we would not have taken) this trip.”
A spokesperson for Calgary International Airport said it has been testing its international travellers since fall 2020.
“We have already started working with all of our partners to scale up operations to meet the new requirements announced on Tuesday,” said Krista Ouellette.
“We look forward to more details from federal officials with guidance on some outstanding questions.”
The president of the Canadian Airports Council urged the government to work with airports to make sure the measures - “which haven't been seen in detail” - are brought in.
“The only operationally feasible way to test 100 per cent of international arriving travellers - from all countries except the U.S. - is to provide off-site tests, such as those that travellers can take at their home or other point of self-isolation,” Daniel-Robert Gooch suggested.
“We also must ensure there is sufficient testing capacity to implement this across all of the traveller groups that now will be required.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 2, 2021.
- With files from Maan Alhmidi in Toronto and Daniela Germano in Edmonton
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States.