TORONTO – The easing of restrictions at Canadian airports could worsen the situation instead of improving it: according to some experts, in fact, the decisions taken by the government to ease the delays and the queues created in particular at the “Pearson” airport in Toronto will have, as effect, an increase in the volume of passengers.
As well known, Canadians no longer have to show proof of Covid-19 vaccination since today to board domestic flights and trains or flights departing abroad. However, all Canadian passengers who board a flight arriving in Canada must still be fully vaccinated against Covid-19, otherwise they will then have to undergo a mandatory fourteen-day quarantine and multiple molecular tests. Non-vaccinated foreign visitors, on the other hand, can’t enter Canada.
The loose rules are, we said, part of a series of measures announced by the federal government earlier this month, in response to complaints received about long waits and flight delays at airports.
The news went into effect today, so it’s too early to say what’s going to happen. What is certain is that until yesterday the situation was still at the limit: long queues, endless waits, inconvenience. And there are some who claim that it will not change.
“I say, pack your bags and be patient,” travel expert Jim Byers told CTV News on Sunday. “Bring a podcast to listen to, a book, set the alarm on your i-Phone and rest for a while or take a walk, because waiting is inevitable”, he added, remembering that passengers about to leave should arrive in airport at least three hours before, for safety.
Almost 500 thousand international passengers found themselves “blocked” for hours at the “Pearson” in May: it is the consequence of the explosive mix formed by: the lack of personnel at customs and immigration offices; the border restrictions for Covid-19; the increase in passenger traffic that resumed movement after the pandemic. Now one of the three “ingredients” of this mix has disappeared, but it is not excluded that the absence of restrictions will not have, as an effect, a further increase in passengers. Which would mean eliminating one problem to aggravate another, because the number of travelers will grow while the customs staff will remain the same. And it is already largely insufficient now.
In the photo, the situation at the “Pearson” on June 13 in a post on Twitter by @CBCPitchbot: it’s not even better now
