On Monday morning, Transport Canada announced it will remove all COVID-19-related entry requirements—including testing, quarantine, and isolation requirements—for anyone entering the country from October 1, 2022. Fast forward to September 2022, Canada has largely passed the peak of the Omicron BA.4- and BA.5–fueled wave alongside a high vaccination rate, low hospitalization and death rates, as well as secured vaccine boosters, rapid tests, and COVID-19 treatments. Regardless of citizens, all incoming travelers to Canada as of October 1, 2022, will no longer need to:
- submit public health information through the ArriveCAN app or website
- provide proof of vaccination
- undergo pre- or on-arrival testing
- carry out COVID-19-related quarantine or isolation
- monitor and report if they develop signs or symptoms of COVID-19 upon arriving in Canada
Additionally, Transport Canada will be removing existing travel requirements such as undergoing health checks for air and rail travel and the requirement of masks on such transportation methods from the same date. However, the government agency shares, “Although the masking requirement is being lifted, all travelers are strongly recommended to wear high quality and well-fitted masks during their journeys.” Related lifted measures are also being applied to cruises in Canada.
Snowbird Can Head South To Belize This Fall & Winter
Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) is the largest and busiest airport in Canada, and the 30th busiest airport of the world in terms of passenger traffic. Image by HW via Unsplash
Before the pandemic in 2019, Belize reported 35,527 annual inbound visitors from Canada, accounting for Belize’s fourth-largest market. Two Canadian carriers service Belize, non-stop, seasonally:
- Air Canada resumes direct once-weekly non-stop flight service from Toronto to Belize in December 2022. In March 2023, service bumps up to twice weekly via an Airbus A220-300. The initial Sunday service departs Toronto Pearson Airport (YYZ) at 9:30 am, arriving at Philip Goldson International Airport (BZE) at 1:15 pm. The return flight then departs Belize City at 2:15 pm for a 7:35 pm arrival in Toronto.
- WestJet Airlines is your ideal carrier if you live in Calgary or Toronto. Albertans, WestJet’s seasonal non-stop service from Calgary to sunny Belize starts again on Friday, November 18, 2022, with an almost 6-hour direct flight. The once-weekly Calgary-Belize escape on Fridays isn’t the only direct flight to the Central American country with WestJet; non-stop seasonal service from Toronto also resumes on November 2, 2022, operating on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
A bird’s eye view of The Split. Photo Courtesy: Kevin Quischan
After nearly a three-year pause, Air Canada returns to Belize in time for the Caribbean country’s high season of tourism, which coincides from November through April.
Header image shows Toronto, Canada.Photo by Eugene Aikimov on Unsplash
