Cdn airlines respond to Zika virus in wake of travel warnings

Canada’s major airlines are allowing passengers to change bookings to Central and South America and to parts of the Caribbean amid growing fears over the Zika virus outbreak.

The Zika virus has been known to occur within equatorial regions from Africa to Asia since the 1950s. In 2014, the virus spread across the Pacific Ocean to French Polynesia, then to Easter Island and in 2015 to Central America, the Caribbean, and South America.

The virus, which is believed to cause neurological problems and birth defects, has reportedly reached pandemic levels in these regions and is “spreading explosively,” Dr. Margaret Chan, the World Health Organization’s director-general, told her organization's executive board members Thursday (Jan. 28), the Canadian Press reports.

Canadian carriers have responded after global airlines, such as United Airlines and American Airlines in the U.S., announced they were issuing refunds to concerned travellers.

The Public Health Agency of Canada has advised pregnant women, in particular, to take extra precautions against mosquito bites when travelling to areas in Central and South America where Zika outbreaks have been reported.

Air Canada will be offering women and their travel companions a refund if they cancel flights over concerns about the virus, pending the passenger has a doctor’s note. Passengers also have the option of changing their booking altogether. Air Canada’s policy applies to flights between Jan. 28 and June 26 with a ticket issued no later than Jan. 26, 2016.

WestJet says any passenger can change or cancel a booking prior to travelling to an infected area and that no doctor’s notes are required. Its policy applies only to departures up to and including June 30, 2016. The policy applies only to affected countries that are listed on the World Health Organization’s website. You can read WestJet’s complete travel advisory here. The Calgary-based airline stated that refunds will be issued in the form of a travel credit.

Air Transat will authorize requests for date or destination changes only, Debbie Cabana, marketing director, social media and public relations at Transat, wrote in an email to PAX.  Transat's policy will apply to pregnant women who booked a trip to one of Transat's destinations affected by the virus that is listed by the PanAmerican Health Organization (namely Mexico, Dominican Republic, Panama, St Maarten, Haiti, Martinique / Guadeloupe, Honduras and Colombia). 

Sunwing Vacations has consulted its destination partners and will addresses the concerns of pregnant customers on a “case by case basis,” Jacqueline Grossman, senior director, marketing at Sunwing Vacations, wrote in a statement emailed to PAX.

 “For customers due to travel who have not purchased cancellation insurance, and have been advised against traveling to affected areas by their physician, we are requesting that they provide us with a medical note. Upon review of their individual circumstances, Sunwing will accommodate these customer’s requests for changes with suitable options depending on their travel needs,” wrote Grossman.

Three cases of the Zika virus have been reported in Canada. However, Federal Health Minister Jane Philpott has confirmed that the cases involved patients who recently travelled in affected regions, and that the breed of mosquitoes that are believed to spread the Zika virus is not found in Canada, CP reports.