Travel Advisories

The safety of our travellers, crew and aircraft is always Swoop’s top priority and we are committed to providing a safe travel and work environment. Should a traveller present ill or fall ill during travel, our frontline teams and crews are trained to handle multiple scenarios and situations that can arise on the ground or onboard our aircraft and have access to real-time support of physicians when requested.

Canadian Entry Requirements:

As of January 7, 2021, all travellers on inbound flights to Canada from the United States, Mexico or Jamaica will be required to provide written or electronic documentation that they received a negative or residual positive test for COVID-19 before boarding their flight. For more information, helpful documents, and answers to frequently asked questions, please refer to this page.

Previous Updates:

Effective March 18th, The Government of Canada has imposed travel restrictions for all flights entering Canada to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Any foreign individual, who has been present outside of Canada or the United States in the last 14 days will be prohibited entry and will be denied boarding. This does not apply to Canadian Citizens, Canadian Permanent Residents, Immediate Family Members and certain exempt persons, so long as no person is exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms.

Due to new entry restrictions imposed by the Canadian Government, only Canadians, U.S. citizens, Permanent Residents, and the direct family of Canadians or Permanent Residents can travel to Canada. Only travellers with a Canadian passport, Canadian PR, or U.S. passport will be able to check in through automated channels. The direct family of Canadians or Permanent Residents that have a foreign passport will need to be checked in at the airport by an agent.

In accordance with the mutual agreement between Canada and the United States to limit non-essential travel, and in an ongoing effort to contain the global spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, non-essential travel will be restricted between Canada and the United States. These new restrictions prohibit any foreign national, including United States nationals, from entering Canada for optional or discretionary purposes.

Non-essential travel includes, but is not limited to: tourism, recreation, shopping for non-essential goods, and/or sight-seeing.

Mandatory Mask Requirement

As of April 20, 2020 Swoop requires all domestic travellers to wear a mask when flying.

An Update on Refunds

On October 21, 2020, the WestJet Group, including Swoop, announced it will begin providing refunds related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Travellers with eligible itineraries will be proactively contacted by Swoop, beginning November 2, 2020.

We appreciate your patience as we work through the administrative backlog. For more information, please visit https://www.flyswoop.com/refunds.

ArriveCan

As of November 21, 2020 all travellers entering Canada must submit info through the ArriveCan app or website. Before boarding, you must provide your contact info, quarantine plan (unless exempt) and COVID-19 self-assessment. Visit below for more information.

https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/coronavirus-disease-covid-19/arrivecan.html

For more information, please visit this page.

Swoop is adjusting international operations in response to the Canadian Government’s request to suspend flying to Mexico and the Caribbean through April 30, 2021.  Effective Sunday, January 31 at 12:01 a.m. ET, Swoop will suspend all southbound operations to Cancun, Mazatlán, Puerto Vallarta, and Montego Bay. 

Swoop will suspend the following operations until April 30, 2021 and in the coming weeks, will operate northbound repatriation flights to ensure our travellers’ safe return to Canada. The airline will continue to evaluate its schedule and make adjustments as needed based on traveller demand and government travel directives.

- Edmonton – Mazatlán 

- Edmonton – Puerto Vallarta 

- Toronto – Cancun

- Toronto – Montego Bay

Impacted travellers are being contacted with directly by email with available options for repatriation or cancellation.

Swoop is adjusting transborder operations out of Edmonton International Airport in response to Transport Canada’s expanded international flight restrictions.

Effective February 3, 2021, at 11:59 PM EST, Swoop will suspend all service from Edmonton International Airport to Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport. This suspension will remain in place until April 30, 2021.

Swoop intends to resume scheduled flying on this route beginning May 1, 2021, once restrictions are removed.

Impacted travellers are being proactively contacted via email with additional information on cancellation options.  Travellers are encouraged to visit https://travel.gc.ca/ for more information.  

Testing

As of January 7, 2021, all travellers on inbound flights to Canada from the United States, Mexico or Jamaica will be required to provide written or electronic documentation that they received a negative or residual positive test for COVID-19 before boarding their flight.

Starting February 1, 2021, all arriving international and transborder travellers will be required to test upon arrival at Toronto Pearson. To sign up for your mandatory test, please follow this link. This does not replace the federally mandated pre-boarding mandatory testing.

For more information, helpful documents, and answers to frequently asked questions, please refer to this page.

Temperature Screening

As per Transport Canada requirements, mandatory temperature screening will be conducted prior to boarding at all international locations.

Any traveller who displays a temperature of 38⁰C or higher will not be permitted to enter the restricted area and will be denied boarding. By checking into your flight, you are confirming your understanding of this policy. Travellers who display an elevated temperature during the screening will not be permitted to board a flight to Canada or must not enter a restricted area at any airport in Canada, for a period of 14-days, unless a medical certificate certifying that the elevated temperature is not related to COVID-19 is provided.

For updated travel restrictions and quarantine requirements, please visit: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection/latest-travel-health-advice.html

ArriveCan

As of November 21, 2020 all travellers entering Canada must submit info through the ArriveCan app or website. Before boarding, you must provide your contact info, quarantine plan (unless exempt) and COVID-19 self-assessment. Visit below for more information.  

https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/coronavirus-disease-covid-19/arrivecan.html

Notice to travellers from the CBSA: The CBSA is authorized to collect advance arrival information (under subsection 107.1(1) of the Customs Act and paragraph 148(1)(d) of the IRPA), as well as advance departure information and exit records (section 93 of the Customs Act and section 11 of the EIR). The CBSA uses the prescribed information to identify persons who may pose a threat to Canada's safety or security. For travellers coming to Canada, these persons may be subject to investigation, and may undergo closer questioning or examination upon arrival. The CBSA also uses the prescribed information to validate, prior to departure, that all incoming air travellers hold a prescribed document to enter Canada or are exempt from that requirement, or are a prescribed person. For departing travellers, the CBSA will use advance exit information only to better identify high-risk persons and goods that depart, or intend to depart, Canada. CBSA entry and exit records may be shared with other government departments for immigration, social benefits or law enforcement purposes. All travellers may request a copy of the prescribed entry and exit information provided about them by making a request in writing to the CBSA. Any traveller who believes that the prescribed information provided about them was incorrect may make a request in writing to the CBSA to have the information corrected. Any traveller may complain in writing to the CBSA if they believe that the CBSA has unfairly refused to provide access to the prescribed information provided about them, has not corrected the prescribed information provided about them, or has otherwise incorrectly handled the prescribed information provided about them. Travellers can obtain more information by consulting the API/PNR, IAPI and Air Exit programs website.

The Jamaican Government requires that all passengers travelling to Jamaica (both Jamaicans and non-nationals) must obtain a travel authorization within 5 days of departure.

Foreign nationals can apply at https://www.visitjamaica.com/  Residents of Jamaica can apply at https://jamcovid19.moh.gov.jm/immigration.html

Travellers will need to save the electronic or printed copy of the Travel Authorization for the airline agent at check-in, or when boarding your flight to confirm acceptance for travel.

Residents from the United States, Mexico, Panama, Dominican Republic and Brazil are required to provide a negative COVID-19 test result within 10 days of travel in addition to obtaining a Jamaican Travel Authorization. The test results have to be verified by a Swoop representative at the airport prior to your flight.  Travel to Jamaica from Canada, by Canadian residents, does not require COVID-19 negative testing.

The Mexican Government requires that all passengers travelling to Mexico fill out the following form upon arrival: https://afac.hostingerapp.com/. A print out of the completed questionnaire response or an electronic copy displayed from a mobile device is to be presented to the Immigration officer when entering or departing Mexico.

Please consult the following for any advisories from the Canadian government about travelling to Mexico: https://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/mexico-mexique/.

The Government of Canada now issues Canadian Passports using code X in the gender field for non-binary Canadians. Swoop welcomes the government’s change and is currently investigating the necessary changes to its systems to be able to fully support non-binary travellers for domestic and international travel.

Until Swoop has completed the changes to be able to support code X in the gender field, travellers may be asked to provide their gender information as either male or female at time of booking or check-in.

For more information and guidance on travelling with a gender X passport, please visit the Government of Canada’s website at https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/canadian-passports/change-sex.html