Expansion of international flight restrictions at Canadian airports
Backgrounder
The Government of Canada is introducing strict new measures to prevent the further introduction of COVID-19 throughout Canada. The government and Canada’s airlines have reached an agreement to suspend all flights to and from Mexico and Caribbean countries until April 30, 2021. This will be in effect as of January 31, 2021.
Further, in March 2020, to more effectively allocate resources (e.g., Public Health Agency of Canada officials) at the border, the Minister of Transport approved flight restrictions to funnel scheduled international commercial passenger flights to Canada’s four largest airports: Montreal-Trudeau International Airport, Toronto Pearson International Airport, Calgary International Airport, and Vancouver International Airport.
Flights from the United States, Mexico, Central America, South America and the Caribbean, as well as from Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, were exempted from this restriction and continued to operate and land at other Canadian airports.
To further strengthen measures already in place, and based on public health advice provided by the Public Health Agency of Canada, the Minister of Transport is expanding the scope of the flight restrictions made under the Aeronautics Act.
Effective midnight (11:59 PM EST) February 3, 2021, the restrictions will be expanded to include the following flights to Canada which will also be required to land at the four Canadian airports noted above:
Scheduled commercial passenger flights from the United States, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and South America;
International business / private passenger flights from all countries; and
International charter passenger flights from all countries.
Flights from Saint-Pierre-et Miquelon and cargo-only international flights will still be exempt from this new requirement.
These changes, implemented through a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM), remain in effect until further notice.
The Government of Canada continues to work closely with the airline industry and airports to implement the changes.