So Many Passengers Have Already Tried To Fly Into Canada Without A COVID-19 Test

Although Canada’s new travel rules have only been in place for 11 days, hundreds of passengers have already been denied boarding for breaking them.

In a statement shared with Narcity, Canadian airline Air Transat revealed that over 400 travellers have been prevented from flying for failing to show a negative COVID-19 test.

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411 Air Transat passengers were denied boarding

In total, 411 people have been refused boarding on Air Transat flights alone since January 7, which is when the rules came into effect.

In their statement, Air Transat acknowledged that some groups of people are temporarily exempt from the new regulations, including passengers from Haiti.

However, for those purposefully ignoring the rules or even showing fake documentation, there are hefty fines and penalties in place.

Canada’s incoming travel restrictions were updated in an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19 and to discourage people from taking non-essential trips overseas during the pandemic.

The updated rules now include requiring all incoming visitors to show a negative COVID-19 test prior to flying, as well as stronger quarantine enforcement measures upon arrival.

While federal officials have said that the current restrictions are “working” as intended, Justin Trudeau recently revealed that the government is “always open” to making them stricter.