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‘There’s a good reason that no people are flying’   Air Canada is planning to suspend all of its flights to Gander, Deer Lake, Wabush and Happy Valley-Goose Bay in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an update posted on the airline’s website. A route update shows that operations at three of those airports will be temporarily suspended from April 6 until June 1, while the Deer Lake suspension is currently scheduled until May 18. The Gander International Airport Authority shared…

Canada’s largest airport only has nine passenger airlines operating this week, compared to 67 three weeks ago, and it’s asking for more federal assistance amid the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA), which operates and maintains Toronto Pearson under a ground lease arrangement with the Government of Canada, it “continues to work to ensure safe operations and to support the national economy through cargo operations.” In recent weeks, passenger airlines have begun to use their aircraft…

Executive salaries to be cut and programs instituted to shore up coffers Air Canada will send home 15,200 unionized employees and 1,300 managers due to the “unpredictable extent and duration” of the COVID-19 pandemic. Canada’s largest airline announced Monday it will place the unionized members on off-duty status and furlough the managers as it reduces capacity by about 85 to 90 per cent from April through June. It intends for the cuts, which will come into effect on or about…

TORONTO — WestJet is adding two more repatriation flights in an effort to bring home nearly 350 Canadians home from San Salvador and Port of Spain. Both flights are due to return over the next few days. This weekend, WestJet will be bringing home 346 Canadians from two other repatriation flights from Havana, Cuba and Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago to Toronto. In just over a week, from March 17 to March 25, the WestJet group of companies, including…

Fasken recently published two articles (on March 12 and March 13, 2020) relating to alternatives to in-person annual shareholders’ meetings in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. In light of the rapidly evolving circumstances and the ongoing proxy season, we have detailed recent developments and trends in the area in order to provide a road-map to corporations navigating this process. Recent Trends In the week since our last bulletin, the following developments and trends have emerged: Relaxed regulatory requirements: In response to COVID-19, on…

Press Release: The federal government’s announcement of help for small and medium-sized buisnesses was hailed by tourism officials as a great step forward. The Canadian government is helping small to medium-sized businesses by covering 75% of wages for qualifying companies during the COVID-19 crisis, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday. The move was quickly hailed by the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario. Later in the day, Finance Minister Bill Morneau said more details of government aid for industries hit…

Press Release WestJet on March 24 announced that 6,900 employees will be leaving the organization, with 90 per cent of those leaving voluntarily. The airline had approximately 14,000 employees before this announcement. WestJet’s low-cost airline subsidiary Swoop had 269 employees impacted through voluntary and involuntary means. The Calgary-based company recently suspended its commercial operations for all transborder (United States, including Hawaii) and international (Europe, Mexico, Caribbean, Central America) flights, as of March 22 for a 30-day period. “Today, 6,900 WestJetters…

Press Release QUÉBEC CITY, March 27, 2020 /CNW Telbec/ – Over the past two weeks, Québec City Jean Lesage International Airport (YQB) has deployed extraordinary measures in response to the global pandemic that is hitting the air transport industry particularly hard. “While the situation is changing from day to day, and even from hour to hour, our role and our priorities have not changed: to help our passengers, from here and abroad, get home safely,” stated Stéphane Poirier, President and CEO of YQB.…

Press Release  CALGARY, March 19, 2020 /CNW/ – Swoop is altering its international operations to help with the global efforts to combat the spread of COVID-19. At the end of the operating day on Sunday, March 22, Swoop is suspending all international and transborder flights and will begin its efforts to bring home the 2,349 Swoop travellers who are currently outside of Canada. This suspension will be in place until May 31, 2020. “These are extraordinary times, and we want to be sure our Swoop…