“I say pack your bags, pack your patience,” travel expert Jim Byers told the CTV News Channel on Sunday. “Bring a podcast to listen to, bring a book, get a snooze, put the alarm clock on your iPhone for about an hour and just rest a bit or go for a walk, because it ‘s inevitable.” Travelers have expressed frustration for weeks with long delays, flight cancellations and discounts at Toronto Pearson International Airport. Nearly half a million passengers were detained after arriving on international flights to Pearson in May. Some have pointed to staffing levels at customs and immigration offices, as well as COVID-19 border measures, combined with increased passenger traffic as contributing to the problem. Byers says travelers should arrive at Pearson about three hours early to be safe. While there are some legitimate issues that are happening worldwide, such as supply chain restrictions, he says that almost everyone in the travel industry has predicted this “forbidden demand”. The federal government says it has hired nearly 900 Canadian Aviation Safety Authority control officers across Canada to help deal with waiting times. It also suspended mandatory random tests for COVID-19 at all airports from 11 June. The suspension will last until the end of the month before moving away. As of Monday, domestic and outgoing international travelers are no longer required to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination. Foreign nationals coming to Canada must be vaccinated to enter. Dr. Christopher Labos, a Montreal-based cardiologist and epidemiologist, meanwhile, has warned Canadians to be careful when traveling. “I mean there are a lot of places in Europe where COVID is rising. There are a lot of places in the US where COVID is going up. So there are definitely increases in the game right now,” he told the CTV News Channel on Sunday. Some experts say an increase in Omicron sub-variants BA.4 and BA.5 could lead to an increase in cases in Canada. Labos says care must be taken depending on where you go and what you do. He also warned travelers to check their travel insurance policies for any exceptions based on whether a person gets COVID-19. “If you are going to go somewhere and sit on the beach and not really interact with other people, then the risk of catching COVID is probably very low,” Lambos said. “But if you are going to go somewhere and go to nightclubs and go to a lot of indoor environments and get in touch with a lot of people, there is a certain risk.” With files from CTV News and the Canadian Press
