Air Canada announced another 1,500 job cuts and suspended more international flights. The airline said it expects airline demand to fall as it is affected by new, stricter travel restrictions.
Air Canada told GlobalNews that 17 routes to the U.S. and overseas will be suspended from Feb. 18 until at least April 30.
Air Canada said, “Affected customers who have booked tickets will be contacted with options, including changing the route to their destination.”
Routes suspended to destinations within the United States include.
*Toronto to: Fort Myers (beginning Feb. 14), Boston (Feb. 16), Washington-Reagan (Feb. 17), Denver (Feb. 17) and New York LaGuardia (Feb. 17).
*Montréal to: Boston (February 17), New York LaGuardia (February 17).
*Vancouver to: Seattle (Feb. 16).
Other affected international flights include.
*Toronto to: Bogota (February 16), Dublin (February 12), Dubai (continued suspension), São Paulo (February 16), Hong Kong (continued suspension), Tel Aviv (continued suspension).
*Montréal to: Bogotá (February 13).
*Vancouver to: London, UK (February 14), Narita, Tokyo, Japan (February 15)
According to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, non-essential travel accounts for about 15 per cent of travellers returning to Canada by air, many of whom are snowbirds, Canadians who frequently spend winters in the United States and overseas.
The “simplest rule” is to limit unnecessary activity “as much as possible” or it will mean paying large fines, said Dr. Wing-Sze Tan, chief public health officer.
The federal government is taking steps to reduce non-essential travel by nationals, including mandatory PCR testing before returning Home, requiring major airlines to suspend flights to tourist destinations and designating quarantine hotels for quarantined international travellers returning Home, which is expected to cost more than $2,000.
The actual number of Air Canada employees has been cut in half after layoffs, from about 40,000 before the outbreak to about 20,000.
Wesley Lesosky, president of CUPE, the union representing Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge crew, said more needs to be done if Canada’s aviation industry is to survive the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said, “We appreciate the federal steps necessary to prevent the spread of new variants of COVID-19 in Canada. But restrictions must come with solutions.”
Air Canada Rouge, a subsidiary of Air Canada, was hit hard as the government suspended all flights to the Caribbean and Mexico, and the airline announced last week that it was laying off 80 employees and ceasing operations starting this Monday.
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