Government urged to further adopt recommendations of its
COVID-19 advisory panel
MONTREAL, Aug. 13, 2021 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Canada today
issued the following statement in response to the Government of
Canada's announcement that
federally regulated employees in the transport sector must be fully
vaccinated against COVID-19 by October 31,
2021.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Air Canada has advocated
and continually adopted science-based measures to keep its
customers and employees safe. This has included encouraging its
employees to get vaccinated, setting up workplace clinics and
supporting community vaccination programs to make vaccinations more
widely accessible.
Although Air Canada awaits further details about today's
announcement on mandatory vaccinations, it is a welcome step
forward in the evolving measures to protect the health and safety
of airline employees, customers and all Canadians. Air Canada is committed to work with its unions
and the Government of Canada to
implement this new policy in an effective manner with the aim of
increasing safety and streamlining the application of science-based
health and safety measures in a manner consistent with the
Government's COVID-19 Testing and Screening Expert Advisory Panel
report of May 5, 2021. In particular,
for travellers, the panel recommended: that there should be no
pre-departure testing for fully vaccinated travellers;
acknowledging that testing at both departure and arrival is
excessive for these passengers; and that effective
self-administered rapid antigen tests now available can safely
replace slower and more expensive PCR testing for pre-departure
tests.
Air Canada also remains
committed to the continued development and application of new
safety measures and processes that are effective and convenient for
customers as they become available. Such measures are vital to the
safe restart of the air transport industry which, apart from
enabling Canadians to travel freely, is also an essential driver of
economic activity in Canada.
About Air Canada
Air Canada is Canada's largest domestic and
international airline and, in 2019, was among the top 20 largest
airlines in the world. It is Canada's flag carrier and a
founding member of Star Alliance, the world's most
comprehensive air transportation network. Air Canada is
the only international network carrier in North
America to receive a Four-Star ranking according to
independent U.K. research firm Skytrax. In 2020, Air Canada was
named Global Traveler's Best Airline in North America for
the second straight year. In January 2021, Air Canada received
APEX's Diamond Status Certification for the Air Canada CleanCare+
biosafety program for managing COVID-19, the only airline
in Canada to attain the highest APEX ranking.
Air Canada has also committed to a net zero emissions
goal from all global operations by 2050. For more information,
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