“Looking at the stats, which are constantly changing, traffic continues to be down more than 90% at most airports, with just a slight uptick over the summer. For next year, we were initially thinking that traffic may be about 65% of 2019 traffic levels, but now airports predict that it may be closer to 50% or worse,” he said. “It really depends on what governments do on restrictions and messaging on travel.” Absolutely, definitely, public health and safety are key. But IATA’s Mona Aubin notes that, according to various recent Canadian airline industry surveys, “passengers are even more concerned about possible quarantine regulations at destinations and that, in Canada, non-essential travel is still restricted. Even between our own provinces! “Airlines have been urging the Canadian government to relieve these travel restrictions, as one-size-fits-all is not fair to travellers nor does it make sense economically. Right now, the borders are closed to everyone,” she points out. “Which is badly hurting the airlines but also the entire travel and tourism sector, which employs 1.8 million people and is worth more than $100 billion annually to the economy.” She suggests that it’s possible todoboth. “There are options that can be implemented (such as more testing) and differentiating between countries whose COVID spread is under control and those that are still considered hot spots. IATA is proposing a layering of temporary non-quarantine measures until we have a vaccine, immunity passports or nearly instant COVID-testing available at scale. This approach would provide governments with the confidence to open their borders without quarantining arrivals. “It is absolutely a priority to keep Canada safe, but there are ways of doing it without cutting us off from the world,” Aubin says with emphasis. The proactive airline focus on passenger trust and confidence in travelling safely is showing signs of success. It’s also starting to have an impact on travel health insurance worries, especially for snowbirds who wonder about the risks of escaping to popular nests such as the Miami, Naples, Fort Lauderdale and Gulf Coast areas of Florida, as well as Arizona, Texas, Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley. When the pandemic crisis hit, most Canadian providers denied travel health insurance and, as of mid-summer, maintained that COVID coverage will only be available when travel advisories are lifted in Canada. Medipac was an exception. In late July, Medipac updated its policy and allowed customers to book single-trip insurance policies for out-of-country emergency medical coverage that included COVIDrelated claims. The company acknowledged the often-overlooked fact that snowbirds are unique travellers. “The needs of snowbirds are distinctly different,” explained Christopher Davidge, Medipac vice-president. “Many Canadian snowbirds travel south, own homes in the U.S. and are able to practise physical distancing just as effectively there as they are here in Canada.” The Medipac approach refreshingly underscores the ultimate pandemic coping factor − people and attitudes. “While we’re aware of the high numbers of COVID cases in the U.S., we do not think that the risks will impact the particular demographic of our clients. They tend to be more mature, more aware of the virus and the importance of preventive measures to take while travelling.” Touchless temperature scans at the gate COVID-19 46 | www.snowbirds.org
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