Canada relaxes testing needs for travellers

 Canada relaxes testing needs for travellers

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Saurabh.Sinha@timesgroup.com

30.01.2022

New Delhi: Canada no longer requires passengers travelling on nonstops from India to get a Covid test done within 18 hours before departure. Starting Friday, it has also ended the need for third-country testing for those coming on one-stops from India. This means people travelling from, say India to Canada via the Gulf/Europe/US, will no longer need to be tested at the transit country before taking a connecting flight to their destination.

To be sure, Canada continues to require that all travellers, unless specifically exempted, have a valid negative pre-departure Covid-19 molecular test result taken within 72 hours before a scheduled flight to Canada.

Canada had on September 27, 2021, allowed resumption of direct flights from India, over five months after suspending the same during the second Covid wave here, with stricter testing norms. The nonstops were, and continue to be, from Delhi. And passengers needed to obtain a pre-departure negative Covid-19 molecular result fromatest done at Delhi Airport’s Genestrings Laboratory within 18 hours before their scheduled departure.

This stringent requirement goes now and the move could pave the way for direct flights between more Indian cities and Canada because as of now nonstops only to and from Delhi are allowed.

“Effective January 28, 2022, we’re removing the modified pre-departure Covid-19 test requirements for travellers on direct flights to Canada from India and Morocco, and the requirement for third country testing for travellers on indirect routes to Canada fromthesecountries,” Transport Canada tweeted on Friday. The Canadian government said it is from January 28, 2022, removing the modified predeparture test requirements for travellers coming to Canada on direct or indirect flights from India or Morocco.