Air Canada Delays Reopening Of Taipei-Vancouver Route

Air Canada aircraft

Online reports by Taiwan’s Central News Agency have indicated that Canada’s flagship airline, Air Canada, will now not reintroduce flights between Taipei and Vancouver until March 2021.

According to reports, the decision was put down to the ongoing battle against COVID-19.

A suspension on the popular route linking Taiwan with the west coast of Canada was initially set to expire in late October this year.

Air Canada has suffered from repeated bad press in recent years, and in 2019, was deemed the worst airline in North America for delays according to Claim Compass.

This did not stop the airline trying to up its game at the same time the Taipei-Vancouver route was put into hibernation, with the airline announcing the launch of ‘Air Canada CleanCare+’ a program with the aim of reducing the chance of catching the coronavirus according to online reports.

Measures to be introduced reportedly include pre-flight temperature checks – already routine in Taiwan – in addition to mandatory health declarations.

Canada foreign minister dodges use of ‘Taiwan’

In other Taiwan related news out of Canada last week, the nation’s foreign minister, Francois-Philippe Champagne made headlines when he seemingly avoided mentioning the name ‘Taiwan’ while referring to a donation of masks made to Canada by the government in Taipei.

Later, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau went on record when asked about his foreign minister’s actions saying “I’m happy to thank Taiwan for its generous donation.”

Mark Buckton

Mark is a journalism vet of 20 years with most of those years spent in Tokyo, Japan, as a columnist for The Japan Times and numerous other publications. His work has appeared on CNN, in the BBC, NPR, and in several dozen other media forms and publications across five continents.