Ottawa to Temporarily Suspend Random COVID Testing at Airports

People wait in line to check in at Pearson International Airport in Toronto on May 12, 2022. The Canadian Press/Nathan Denette

The federal government says it will suspend random COVID-19 testing at airports for vaccinated travellers until the end of the month.

The development comes as airports and industry groups had asked for the program to be ended. Airports and airlines have said they are dealing with significant congestion due to the various COVID-19 travel mandates, leading to long waits for travellers.

“The Government of Canada recognizes the impact that significant wait times at some Canadian airports are having on travellers. We continue to work with airports, airlines, baggage handlers, and other partners to implement solutions to reduce delays as we approach the summer peak season,” Transport Canada said in a statement on June 10.

“Today, the Government of Canada is also announcing that Mandatory randomized testing will be temporarily suspended at all airports between Saturday, June 11 and Thursday, June 30, 2022. Unvaccinated travellers will still be tested on-site. As of July 1, all testing, including for unvaccinated travellers, will be performed off-site.”

Measures such as COVID-19 vaccine mandates and the use of the ArriveCAN app remain in effect. The government says it will send more staff from the Public Health Agency of Canada to airports to verify that travellers have completed their ArriveCAN submissions on arrival and assist travellers in completing the app.

The government previously said the current public health restrictions would remain until the end of June, but has been facing mounting pressure from industry and travel groups who said the surveillance measures created the airport havoc.

On July 6, the Canadian Airports Council (CAC) called on the federal government to align with the international community in ending the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for aviation employees and air travellers.

“The aviation community has been a supportive partner of the federal government in facilitating the vaccine mandate for travel since October 2021. However, today all Canadian provinces have removed vaccine restrictions, so there is now a different standard for aviation employees and transportation than for other Canadians,” CAC said in a statement on Twitter.

“Aviation is global. In order to support this industry’s economic recovery and compete globally, Canada must align with the international community and join the list of over 50 countries that have already removed vaccine mandates and COVID protocols for travel.”

Andrew Chen and The Canadian Press contributed to this report