Air Canada Cleared Up Reports It Was Suspending Flights To Mexico & The Caribbean

Someone forgot that it's 2022, not 2021 😬

Global Staff Writer

Air Canada is setting the record straight after an old press release inspired new, incorrect reports that it was about to suspend flights to Mexico and the Caribbean.

All the confusion stems from a press release from early last year stating that due to the pandemic, Air Canada would be suspending flights to Mexico and the Caribbean for 90 days starting January 31, 2021.

Several papers in the Caribbean reported the old announcement as new news this week, sparking confusion and even drawing a comment from a government official in Antigua and Barbuda about the non-suspension.

The report also topped Google's search trends and prompted Air Canada to correct the record on Monday.

"Your information is outdated," the airline said in a tweet to one of the papers.

Air Canada did suspend flights to the Caribbean early last year in collaboration with the Canadian government, but it has since lifted those restrictions.

The announcement somehow resurfaced this week, with some news outlets claiming that the suspension would be going into effect in 2022 rather than 2021.

The news picked up traction pretty fast, so Air Canada's Twitter account eventually stepped in to correct the report.

"Important clarification: Air Canada is not suspending service to Mexico or the Caribbean. Your information is outdated and appears to be from a press release issued in January 2021," said the tweet.

The false report surfaced at a time when people are already on edge about travel and flight cancellations due to bad weather and the Omicron variant.

Canada recently updated its travel restrictions after a brief period of relaxing them. The government is now warning against non-essential travel to curb the surge in cases caused by the new variant.

International flights are still running, although Air Canada has stopped all flights to Israel until at least March.

UPDATE: Air Canada announced on January 5 that it would be suspending some services to sun destinations, including some spots in the Caribbean.

  • Sameen Chaudhry (she/her) was a Toronto-based Staff Writer for Narcity's Global Desk. She has a Bachelor of Arts and Science from the University of Toronto, where she majored in political science and philosophy. Before joining Narcity, she wrote for 6ixBuzzTV, covering topics like Toronto's music scene, local real estate stories, and breaking news.

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