Ottawa –
Canada saw a slight increase in the amount of foreign nationals entering the country in the first week after the border opened for people fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
According to data from the Canada Border Services Agency, between September 6 and September 12, 95,381 foreign nationals traveling by commercial air landed in Canada, up from 79,886 a week earlier.
The government announced in July that anyone who has been fully vaccinated with one of the vaccines approved by Health Canada will be able to enter the country for discretionary purposes from 7 September, as long as they have no additional COVID-19. Follow screening measures.
Passengers must have received a “full series” or a combination of vaccines 14 days prior to departure, that information is presented on the ArriveCAN app or equivalent website, provided molecular test results were taken no more than 72 hours before their scheduled departure . flight, and took another test upon arrival.
The volume of commercial air travelers by foreign nationals hovered around 70,000 for most of August and between 15,000 and 45,000 per week in June and July.
August’s increase correlates with Canada opening its doors to fully vaccinated Americans for non-essential purposes. At the same time, several airports began receiving international flights once again, including Ottawa MacDonald-Cartier International Airport and Quebec City’s Jean Lesage International Airport.
While there was a slight increase in arrivals between September 6 and September 12, the high passenger volume is still nowhere near pre-pandemic levels. More than 326,000 foreign nationals arrived in Canada during the same week in 2019.
Overall, international passenger volume – including Canadians – stood at 209,838, compared to 677,745 in the same week of 2019.
Transport Canada announced Tuesday that it will lift a months-long ban on direct flights from India starting September 26 at 11:59 a.m. EDT, increasing screening measures on arrival.
