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While more people are travelling this holiday season than last year, the federal government recently advised against international travel.

Photo courtesy YVR, pre-COVID pandemic

Canadians advised to avoid holiday travel

By Hannah Scott, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

Published 11:55 PST, Fri December 17, 2021

Last Updated: 12:13 PST, Fri December 17, 2021

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The federal government issued an advisory this week, strongly suggesting Canadians avoid non-essential international travel due to the Omicron variant of concern.

The sudden imposition of control measures, including possible lockdowns, is cited as a reason for the recommendation. People may have difficulty returning to Canada, or may not be able to access health care if they become ill.

For those who are travelling, there are more considerations to keep in mind than a pre-pandemic holiday season.

Vancouver International Airport (often called by its three-letter airport code, YVR) is currently seeing just over 30,000 travellers per day. Typically there would be 75,000 to 80,000 travellers per day at this time of year according to Robyn McVicker, the airport’s vice-president of passenger journey.

McVicker adds there are about 3,000 to 5,000 international arrivals per day, versus the 10,000 to 15,000 that would be typical. The market at YVR is usually 50 per cent domestic, 25 per cent international and 25 per cent U.S.A.

Those who are travelling should make sure they know the entry requirements for their destination, given the slew of constant changes. For instance, those heading south to the U.S.A. need a negative COVID-19 test within 24 hours of departure, although a rapid antigen test is acceptable in this case. Then, once people arrive home in Canada, they must fill out the ArriveCAN app within 72 hours of their return.

Some international passengers (coming from destinations other than the U.S.A.) are selected at random for arrival testing. The federal government is increasing the number of travellers who will be tested, with the goal of reaching 100 per cent, according to its website.

The transition last month to requiring full vaccination for all travellers aged 12-plus was very smooth, according to McVicker.

“I really applaud the airlines for being ready to manage this. They’ve had to work some pretty significant magic pretty quickly in order to make sure they can verify everybody before they get on a flight,” she adds.

And there are always backup plans in place in case of flight cancellations due to inclement weather or COVID-19.

“I think airlines are always prepared for that,” McVicker notes. “We have had to adjust the operation over and over (through) the last few months.”

As of Nov. 16, the B.C. Centre for Disease Control is no longer posting notifications for COVID-19 exposures on airplanes. But McVicker says this won’t have any impact on airport operations.

For the most recent information on travel rules and restrictions, check YVR’s website and the federal government site.