Maritime travel officials expect a busier holiday season as COVID-19 vaccine rates rise, restrictions loosen
After a year with minimum recreational travel due to strict COVID-19 restrictions, a spokesperson for the Halifax Stanfield International Airport, just outside of Halifax, N.S., says they're expecting to see that change this holiday season.
"We are expecting this year, that given increased vaccination rates and other travel restrictions that have been lifted throughout the pandemic, mostly recently earlier this summer, that more people will be looking to reconnect with family and friends over the holiday season," said Tiffany Chase, spokesperson for the Halifax Stanfield International Airport.
Chase expects December will be busy at the Halifax airport and encourages travellers to plan ahead and be prepared.
"So, of course we're always giving the same kind of tips that we would have pre-pandemic, in letting people know that they may encounter lineups at various aspects of the journey at the airport, and to arrive with plenty of time to make their way through the process," explained Chase.
At the Saint John Airport in Saint John, N.B., bookings through December to early January are said to be relatively "strong" and "solid."
"If you compare it to pre-pandemic, we're probably between 40 to 50 per cent of what we were. But still, our load factor is based on the available seats we have and it's significant," said Jacques Fournier, with the Saint John Airport.
According to CAA Atlantic, their phones have been very busy lately, with an increased interest in travel.
"As we head into the holiday season, people are interested in all types of travel," said Steve Olmstead, with CAA Atlantic. "Whether it's here in Atlantic Canada or beyond, or even internationally, and they're really trying to do their best to plan that travel."
Olmstead said those who are calling have plenty of valid questions.
"One thing they are doing consistently is looking for advice from a trusted travel advisor and that advantage helps them negotiate some of these developments that are coming at us left, right and centre with respect to the pandemic," said Olmstead.
Olmstead says anyone travelling this holiday season should make sure they have a good plan in place, and make to familiarize yourself with the COVID-19 rules and restrictions in place at your final destination, as well as stopping points along the way.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.