As of Sunday, air travelers heading into the USA will no longer need to show a negative COVID-19 test..According to The New York Post, a senior Biden administration official said, “Today, the administration is announcing an important update: CDC will no longer require pre-departure COVID-19 testing for U.S.-bound air travelers, effective Sunday, June 12th at 12:01 a.m. ET.”.“CDC has determined, based on the science and data, that this requirement is no longer necessary. CDC will do a reassessment of this decision in 90 days, and as with other policies, CDC will continue to evaluate it on an ongoing basis.”.Members of both major US political parties, as well as almost all airline officials strongly opposed the testing requirement, saying it caused financial damage to airlines and their staffs, noting also that most European countries long ago ditched similar rules..The Biden administration has left the door open to bring back testing requirements..“If there is a need to reinstate a pre-departure testing requirement, including due to a new, concerning variant, CDC will not hesitate to act,” the official said. .“We are able to take this step because of the tremendous progress we’ve made in our fight against the virus. We have made life-saving vaccines and treatments widely available and these tools are working to prevent serious illness and death and are effective against the prevalent variants circulating in the US and around the world.”.The very same could be said about safety measures taken to fight the virus in Canada, but the Canadian government continues to live in the Stone Age..To mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Canadian government imposed a vaccine mandate since October 2021. It requires every passenger and airline crew member to be fully vaccinated, have a certification to prove it and a negative COVID-19 test. .Canada is now only one of two countries with the requirements. .Countries that have dropped vaccine requirements, fully opening their borders, include the UK, Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Italy..The Canadian Airports Council (CAC) has issued a statement calling for the removal of vaccine requirements for air passengers and aviation employees. .In a statement, CAC said: “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.”.“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.”.The restrictions have made air travel a nightmare, says Air Canada’s former chief operating officer, Duncan Dee, putting the blame squarely on the government's shoulders..In a tweet, Dee said airports are not equipped to deal with the Liberal government’s poor planning. .“Airlines are not configured to deal with 3-4 hour security & customs delays. That crew that was scheduled to operate your (flight)? They’re out of duty time because the (flight) they operated this morning was held off gate for 2 hrs,” wrote Dee. .“The Gov may want to minimize the fallout from its poor planning but airlines are not configured to handle 65+ days of delays. There are simply not enough crews, staff, aircraft or empty seats to fix the Gov’s mess.”.A viral video by former Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Ryan Whitney highlighted the issues at Toronto Pearson International Airport..“I need to get out of this country, out of this airport. This is the worst airport on Earth. I’m telling you, there’s no other airport like this,” said Whitney. “I’m so shocked at this place, it is the biggest disgrace known to man.”.That prompted a response from Toronto Mayor John Tory..“The situation at the airport is not acceptable as it presently is. It’s just not acceptable,” said Tory. “This is not just a Toronto problem. (Pearson) is the gateway to all of Canada.”.Whether the Toronto airport is the gateway to all of Canada can be debated, but what is very true is the NDP/Liberal government's refusal to lift the remaining restrictions has nothing to do with health, data or science..It’s all about control..And living in the Stone Age.
