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Canada Requires Vaccine to Travel

In Canada, all government employees, all workers in federally regulated industries and all passengers of those industries (including air carriers, interprovincial trains and cruise ships) must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of October, according to a new mandate issued Friday.

The new rule means that all pilots, flight attendants, mechanics and other air carrier employees plus all the people they serve must be two weeks beyond the two-shot regimen (Pfizer, Moderna) or the single-shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine or not be able to work or travel.  Canada, which is among the world leaders in overall vaccination rates, is also developing a vaccine passport.

There are still a number of details that need to be worked out, one of which is how the mandate will impact foreign carriers as well as international and connecting flights of domestic airlines.  Canada’s two largest air carriers (AirCanada and WestJet) are fully supportive of the plan.

An AirCanada official said, “It is a welcome step forward in the evolving measures to protect the health and safety of airline employees, customers and all Canadians.”