Canadian Airports Will Have A Different Setup For Travellers Who Aren't Fully Vaccinated

Canadian airports will have different setups for fully vaccinated travellers and travellers who haven't received the full course of their COVID-19 vaccines, according to Canada's federal officials.

Speaking on June 21, federal minister Patty Hajdu confirmed that travel restrictions for fully vaccinated Canadians will be updated, allowing them to skip the two-week quarantine period and mandatory hotel stay, among other things.

Transport Minister Omar Alghabra acknowledged that this could mean an influx of travellers at the four Canadian airports accepting international flights, but said the feds are working on a system to keep fully vaccinated and unvaccinated travellers apart.

"To ensure the smooth movement of both vaccinated and unvaccinated travellers through our airports, we will be working with industry to establish separate lines for these two categories of traveller," Alghabra explained on Monday.

The federal minister added that this would allow airport staff to "quickly sort passengers based on vaccination status and get them to the appropriate screening checkpoints efficiently and safely."

He announced that Canada would also be eliminating pre-departure temperature testing, to avoid the "duplication of work" and to ensure passengers spend as little time in the airport as possible.

Alghabra also committed to "working with colleagues at the federal, provincial, territorial and industry level to determine next steps later this summer," which he said could include expanding the number of Canadian airports receiving international flights.