Canada resumes passenger flights from India

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Canada’s first direct flight from India since April landed in Toronto on Wednesday morning, the first since COVID-19 cases spiked and led to its ban earlier this year.

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Air Canada Flight 43 from Delhi touched down in Toronto Pearson just before 5:30 a.m., just hours after Transport Canada announced its intentions to lift the direct flight ban this week.

“Canada continues to take a measured and risk-based approach to reopening the border while at the same time prioritizing the health and safety of everyone in Canada,” read Tuesday’s press release from Transport Canada.

In April, Canada issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) banning all direct passenger flights from India in response to the increase in COVID cases on the four daily direct flights from Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi.

While Canada extended the NOTAM until Sunday, Transport Canada said three flights left India on Wednesday for Canadian airports, and its passengers will be screened to obviously assess the effectiveness of the new measures.

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These measures include requiring passengers to have a negative COVID test administered at a provider within Delhi Airport at least 18 hours before departure, and for operators to ensure that no one boards a Canadian-bound plane without being fully vaccinated. Passengers should also make sure their vaccination status is up to date on the ArriveCAN mobile app.

Those traveling to Canada via indirect flights must still obtain a negative COVID test from a laboratory outside of India before departing for Canada.

The second wave of COVID-19 fueled by variants from India coincided with the surge in cases arriving on international flights, with nearly all flights in April carrying infected passengers.

In December, Canada temporarily banned passenger flights from the UK in response to instances of what was previously known as the ‘UK variant’ of COVID-19, followed by a suspension of flights serving popular destinations. sun on January 29 and mandatory COVID. 19 hotel tests and quarantines for arriving international passengers.

A similar ban on passenger flights from Morocco was issued in August, set to expire next Wednesday.

August was the highest month in Canadian history for infected international flights, with the Toronto sun registering 783 flights of this type according to data published by Health Canada.

As of Wednesday, 104 international flights have landed in Canada so far in September, carrying passengers who have tested positive for COVID-19.

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