Advisor Insider: What it’s Like Arriving in Canada by Air Since the Borders Opened

October 13, 2021 ctn_admin

In our new Canadian Travel News series, travel experts share their reviews of the destinations they’ve visited as we emerge from COVID. Follow for the latest resort updates, best beaches and a first-hand look in the destinations you want to visit.

Here is Teodor Mihail at Unravel World Travel’s experience returning to Canada from Mexico. You can reach him at [email protected], 647-223-7530.

After spending a week in sunny Mexico, it was time to return to Canada. Nowadays, no one knows what to expect. While many sources say lineups are chaotic, it seems like that only happens occasionally. To summarize it in one sentence: it was easier than expected.

Everyone returning to Canada must download the ArriveCAN app and fill out their arrival information, as well as have a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within 72 hours prior to flight departure. My flight was on a Saturday, and I took my test on Thursday at 8:00 am. The result was received by email around 7:00 pm. That same evening, I filled up the ArriveCAN app on my phone, which took only 5 minutes. After making an account, the app asks questions such as what the purpose of the trip was, where the traveler had been over the last 14 days, flight and vaccination details. The app specifically asks which vaccine the traveler got, on which date, and  the vaccine receipt(s) must be uploaded. Therefore, travelers must keep their vaccine receipts on their phone. Alternatively, the process can be done via the ArriveCAN website and printed out. After that, the app asks the traveler to “complete their quarantine plan”. It can be alarming to travelers who might interpret it as a sign that they must quarantine even though they are fully vaccinated. The truth is, it is a standard procedure for everyone, and the app specifies in which cases one must quarantine and all the exemptions. At the end, it asks if the traveler is experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19, after which it gives a receipt with a 6-digit code.

Arriving at Cancun International Airport, I was waiting in line to check-in when an airport staff walked by asking to see everyone’s PCR tests and the ArriveCAN receipts. Check-in was simple and everything went as in pre-covid times, with 1 exception: while going through security, my temperature was taken, and there was a separate area where it said “temporary isolation”. That area would be for travelers who have a temperature over 37.5. No one at security nor at the gate asked to see my ArriveCAN or PCR test.

After landing in Toronto, the pilots announced that we had to wait as the airport was at maximum capacity. After waiting about 20 minutes, passengers with a connecting flight were allowed to disembark. 5 minutes later, all other passengers disembarked.

Arriving at customs, I went to a kiosk to have my arrival card printed. It asked the standard questions as on the regular pre-covid questionnaires, with an added question of whether I was experiencing COVID-19 symptoms. After that, I went in line to see the customs officers. I was only asked 4 questions, one of them being if I was fully vaccinated. Then I was given a green sticker to put on my passport which said “PHAC”. That means fully vaccinated. At the end, I was asked if I had my ArriveCAN receipt. I said yes and aimed to pull out my phone, but before I took out my phone, the officer said “have a nice day”. All this took 22 minutes, and I was not even asked for my PCR test. Upon exit, I was asked to show “the sticker I was given”. The staff saw it was the green one and didn’t say anything else.

As a summary, other than the added requirements for the PCR test and ArriveCAN, it felt like pre-covid times. The flight arrived at 17:50 and I was out of the airport in just under an hour. In 3 words: travel is back!

Looking to travel anywhere in the world? I provide all the information about entry requirements, as well as the exact time that travellers must take their COVID-19 test if required, in order to allow my clients to travel with confidence!

Teodor can be reached via [email protected] and www.unravelworldtravel.com

About the Author