Full story at CBC News.
Jacob Frey never thought international travellers would be on his WestJet flight from Calgary to Edmonton — until he spotted several passengers wearing sombreros in the waiting area.
After boarding the Nov. 22 flight, Frey said he learned that the passenger seated next to him and three passengers in the row behind were returning from vacation resorts in Mexico.
“I was shocked,” said Frey, a laid-off sewer construction worker from Saskatoon who was flying to Edmonton to scope out job prospects.
When Canadian passengers take domestic flights during the COVID-19 pandemic, they may be sharing the cabin with international travellers on a connecting flight who have yet to quarantine.
Although many travellers entering Canada must quarantine for 14 days, they don’t have to start the process until reaching their final destination — as long as they have no COVID-19 symptoms.
Since Canada closed its borders to most non-essential travel in late March, more than 1.5 million Canadians and foreigners have entered the country by air.
Between March and September, an estimated 17 per cent of air passengers arriving in Canada took a connecting domestic flight, according to data compiled by Transport Canada.
Several countries, including Australia and New Zealand, require travellers to quarantine at their first point-of-entry before taking connecting flights.
CHEK News
