Confirmation of Canada’s biosafety standards has been welcomed by the country’s aviation sector as a major step forward in restarting air travel.
The long-awaited ‘Flight Plan for Navigating Covid-19’ is being seen as a “clear endorsement” of biosafety efforts already put in place by Air Canada, WestJet, Toronto and Vancouver airports.
Flight Plan provides the framework for restarting the aviation sector in Canada by including “international, proven best practices” for proactively protecting air travellers at all stages of the journey.
It covers measures such as health checks, face coverings, touchless technology and cleaning protocols.
Potential future enhancements are outlined, many of which the four businesses are already working to adopt.
Air Canada chief executive Calin Rovinescu said: “By aligning the Canadian aviation sector with best international practices for customer health and safety, the government of Canada has now established the necessary science-based preconditions that assure customers of the highest levels of safety for air travel and for reopening Canadian aviation across provinces and to the world.
“Our Air Canada CleanCare+ programme encompasses the measures recommended in Flight Plan and, as part of our evolving layered approach to biosafety, we remain committed to working with governments and other stakeholders to continue strengthening biosafety for all travellers.
“This is an important step to enabling business and the economy to safely restart alongside Covid-19, particularly the airline industry, which is a key economic driver.”
WestJet chief executive Ed Sims added: “Safety has always been above all at WestJet and we welcome the implementation of Flight Plan.
“We remain committed to working with the government of Canada to ensure all protocols are consistent with the best practices and advice available to us from around the world.”