Adds remark from Air Canada Jan 7 (Reuters) - WestJet Airwa
Adds remark from Air Canada
Jan 7 (Reuters) – WestJet Airways mentioned on Thursday it had denied 10 passengers from boarding a flight for missing the correct check for the novel coronavirus, simply after a Canadian authorities requirement that passengers present proof of a adverse end result earlier than boarding took impact.
Confronted with a mounting second wave of infections, Canadian Transport Minister Marc Garneau mentioned final week that air vacationers aged 5 and up would want to check adverse for the coronavirus earlier than boarding the airplane, beginning on Jan. 7.
The worldwide airline business has been calling for COVID-19 testing as a method to ease journey restrictions and reopen borders with out crippling quarantine measures, though Canada nonetheless requires worldwide passengers to self-isolate for 14 days.
Information of the shock Canadian measure left airways frightened of potential confusion over which testing services overseas for the coronavirus had been eligible and the way the outcomes from the PCR (polymerase chain response) check should be introduced to carriers.
WestJet mentioned on Thursday it couldn’t board the passengers as a result of they didn’t have eligible exams to satisfy the brand new authorities requirement.
Air Canada AC.TO, the nation’s largest provider, mentioned its brokers are working to assist some passengers get hold of the exams.
“As anticipated, we’re experiencing some challenges with prospects who haven’t met the brand new authorities testing necessities,” spokeswoman Pascale Déry mentioned by electronic mail.
Garneau’s workplace was not instantly out there for remark.
A WestJet spokeswoman mentioned by electronic mail the provider has rebooked the passengers denied boarding on the Thursday morning flight from Cancun to Calgary, however mentioned the “state of affairs additional highlights the challenges vacationers and our operations are dealing with” from the brand new necessities.
“This newest announcement by the federal authorities is particularly the kind of chaotic state of affairs WestJet has been searching for to keep away from,” spokeswoman Morgan Bell mentioned.
As of Wednesday, Canada had reported a further 8,153 coronavirus circumstances and 136 deaths.
(Reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal and Tracy Rucinski Modifying by Matthew Lewis and Marguerita Choy)
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