Thought of the Day - January 11 - Airline Travel

Wow, I now understand why there is so much discussion about the impact of Canada's new airline travel procedures. In case you missed it, you will need to have a negative PCR or LAMP (rapid) COVID test in advance if you plan to come to Canada (Haiti, Jamaica and Saint Pierre et Miquelon are exempted for a couple of weeks to give them time to but more tests - guess I was right about tests for tourists not residents: Thought of the Day - November 23 - Deadlock Holiday ).

An acquaintance was heading back to Brazil last week to help out her elderly mother who had just had surgery. As Brazil also requires a negative test result she went and got her PCR test three days ahead of time as described on the web-site site. She arrived at the airport, test results in hand, but when she went to board the flight she was told that her test was too old. She commented, no, she was careful to make sure that it was done less than 72 hours before check-in. The Air Canada agent, rebutted, no it has to be 72 hours ahead of departure time, not boarding time, and so by the time the plane is ready for take-off your test will be expired by 20 mins.

After arguing and crying, she was told in no uncertain terms that the Air Canada policy is that: "The PCR test must be taken within 72 hours of departure from your flight from Canada" - and this means departure time. So she went back home, redid the $300 test, and rebooked - dang.

I just looked on the Transport Canadian site, there is nothing about requirements for tests when departing Canada and it simply says: "Effective midnight on January 7, 2021 (00:00 EST or 05:00 UCT), regardless of citizenship, all travelers five years of age or older must provide proof of a negative laboratory test result for COVID-19 to the airline prior to boarding a flight to Canada". And in fact when you look up Brazil it is mentioned as one of the countries where a test up to 96 hours ahead is still allowed when coming to Canada.

No wonder people are so confused.

Cheers

Cliff

P.S. Oh by the way, Air Canada and WestJet now have a new Q&A concerning testing:

Q: If I get my test within 72 hours and my flight is delayed, will I still be allowed to board?

A: Yes, the test needs to be taken within 72 hours of the original scheduled departure time so if your flight is delayed, your test will be accepted.