Canada’s air travel numbers dropped with new COVID-19 rules

New rules for international air travellers appear to have convinced even more Canadians to stay put in recent weeks.

Most Canadians have been heeding the government’s plea not to travel outside the country. Reports from the Canada Border Services Agency show international air travel during the pandemic is less than a 10th of what it was before COVID-19.

But travel did start to creep upwards over the Christmas holidays and early in the new year.

After Ottawa started making international air travellers show proof of a negative COVID-19 test before boarding their plane, arrivals began to drop.

By early February, they had fallen 44 per cent compared with early January.

International air passengers now must also quarantine at a hotel in Canada for at least three days after arrival. Data is not yet available to show what impact that may have had.