Air Canada supports revised mask policy for travel and people have thoughts
Air Canada announced this week that they are on board with the Government of Canada's decision to lift remaining travel restrictions, including the mask mandate on aircrafts, testing and quarantine, and the use of the ArriveCan app starting Oct. 1.
"Air Canada welcomes the removal of these restrictions, acknowledging that air travel is safe and that the measures were not justified by science," said Craig Landry, Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer at Air Canada.
"We believe it will greatly facilitate travel, help to continue stabilizing the country's air transport sector and support Canada's economy," he stated.
Landry acknowledged that all customers and crew still have the option to wear masks, and the airline encourages travellers to monitor their own health.
Reactions to the recent move were mixed on social media, with some claiming the change should've happened sooner, and others expressing their worries.
"Air Canada welcomes the removal of the restrictions, acknowledging that air travel is safe and that the measures were not justified by science." #cdnpoli #onpolihttps://t.co/GGwoNwM7Sa
— Roman Baber (@Roman_Baber) September 28, 2022
One person said they were willing to only fly with Air Canada because of the mask mandate.
We flew Air Canada to the US *because* they had masks.
— Dr. Sherrill Stroschein 💙 (@sstroschein2) September 25, 2022
Announcements throughout the flight that masks were to protect employees.
Suddenly those employees don't matter?
Appalling. https://t.co/o9nphFjYvn
Another person expressed that virus transmission is very much still happening.
Half-hearted mask policies didn’t do any favours for the flight crews or ground crews. It’s not a good time to play make believe that the pandemic is over.
— Super Dave Fella (@kneufield1) September 25, 2022
One person said that the logic of wearing masks on aircrafts didn't make much sense, given that restrictions are completely loosened in other places.
I don’t understand the logic of it. You can spend hours in a crowded bar, then head straight to an airport and have to wear a mask for a couple of hours, except if you nurse a drink you don’t have to.
— Neil Littlejohns (@nlittlejohns) September 25, 2022
I fail to see how it makes any difference given the inconsistency.
Another person suggested that aircrafts are the site of high transmission rates.
I don’t understand the logic of it. You can spend hours in a crowded bar, then head straight to an airport and have to wear a mask for a couple of hours, except if you nurse a drink you don’t have to.
— Neil Littlejohns (@nlittlejohns) September 25, 2022
I fail to see how it makes any difference given the inconsistency.
The lifting of restrictions comes after months of complaints from customers amid flight delays, custom backlogs, staff shortages, and last-minute cancellations.
"This includes significant improvements in on-time performance as compared to earlier in the summer, meaningful reductions in delays and cancellations, a daily flight completion factor now over 98%, as well as baggage handling performance that has fully restabilized at pre-pandemic levels," Landry explained.
