August 5, 2020
The Honourable Marc Garneau
Minister of Transport
House of Commons
Ottawa ON K1A 0A6

Reference: 295414

Dear Minister Garneau,
Re:

Airline Travel Data and Practices

I hope this letter finds you well. I am writing to express concerns on behalf of the Province and
Dr. Bonnie Henry, Provincial Health Officer, regarding the quality of data currently shared from
flight manifests and with other practices in air travel which may compromise public safety.
We share the interest of the federal government in helping our economy and society recover
from the pandemic and believe safe air travel is vital to achieving these goals. We have come so
far together as a country with much success to curb the spread of COVID-19. As we restart our
economy, however, we want to ensure all passengers and communities remain safe and that
nobody is put at risk due to any oversight.
As you may know, the data our public health officials currently receive is not necessarily
complete and is sometimes unusable. Instead of listing the name and contact information of the
person on the plane, the data often includes the name of a travel agency that booked the flight or
includes a frequent flyer number or the name of the individual who bought the ticket but may not
have flown. Consequently, rather than contact tracing individuals, public health officials have
reverted to listing flights with a positive COVID-19 case, which raises public concern. We
encourage the federal government to ensure the data gathered is usable and traces back to the
individual traveller directly.
We recognize the federal government’s efforts to work with the airline industry to develop
consistent and fair policies based on best public health practices to ensure the public can travel
safely and carefully. We would like to encourage and support the federal government in its work
to maintain public safety by helping to improve the flight passenger data available to health
officials.
…2
Ministry of Transportation
and Infrastructure

Office of the Minister

Mailing Address:
Parliament Buildings
Victoria BC V8V 1X4

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Safety is paramount in the air sector, and we are heartened to see this focus and effort continue
when dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. As guidelines have been implemented to ensure
safety we have, however, noticed an inconsistency or lag in their implementation. We therefore
encourage the federal government ensures:
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A consistent adherence to the health protocols for boarding a plane, including rigorous
screening for symptoms before boarding;
Flexible airline cancellation policies that allow people to cancel or re-book flights if they
develop symptoms after booking a flight;
Ensuring adequate testing capacity for individuals arriving on international flights;
Agreement on activities on board planes, including consistent rules on eating, use of
restrooms and use of the middle seat in economy; and
Development of insurance protocols to assist travellers who are ill, as not all travel
policies cover the costs of COVID-19 treatment, which can be very expensive for
non-B.C. citizens who require treatment in the province.

We look forward to continued collaboration on this work as we support the continued recovery
of the economy and safety and well-being of the travelling public.
Yours sincerely,

Claire Trevena
Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure

Copy to:

Premier John Horgan
Dr. Bonnie Henry
Provincial Health Officer
Grant Main, Deputy Minister
Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure
Bobbi Plecas, Deputy Minister
Intergovernmental Relations Secretariat
…3

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Lori Halls, Deputy Minister
Emergency Management BC
Tamara Vrooman, President and CEO
Vancouver International Airport
Calin Rovinescu, President and CEO
Air Canada
Edward Sims, President and CEO
WestJet