The COVID-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented global crisis that is having a significant impact on the air industry and travelers. Canada has announced implementation of temperature screening for travelers at 11 additional Canadian airports.
In June 2020, the Canadian government announced a multi-phased approach to temperature screenings for all passengers traveling to Canada and travelers departing some Canadian airports, for either international or domestic destinations.
Temperature screening stations have been in place since July 30, 2020 at the four largest airports in Canada: Montréal, Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver. This includes temperature screening for both departing passengers as well as non-passengers (e.g., airport workers, flight crews).
And since the end of September, temperature screening is being conducted at these additional Canadian airports: St. John’s, Halifax, Québec City, Ottawa, Toronto – Billy Bishop, Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Kelowna and Victoria. In addition, all employees and personnel that enter or work in the restricted area of these airports are subject to temperature screening procedures by Canadian Air Transport Security Authority personnel.
All passengers who have an elevated temperature and do not have a medical certificate to explain a medical or physical condition that would result in an elevated temperature, are not permitted to continue their travel and are asked to re-book after 14 days.
For international flights to Canada, air operators must conduct temperature screenings at the point of departure, unless the local authority has an equivalent measure in place, in addition to the existing required health check questions for symptoms prior to boarding.
