This weekend the last flights from Puerto Vallarta to Canada departed until May when they will be re-established.
The Canadian government determined that as of the last day of January, flights to Mexico from Canada were suspended and the measure ends on April 30, which has had a considerable impact on the Jalisco destination.
“We handle an average of 5 thousand passengers, of which 50% are international and if we compare the first seven days of 2020 with the first week of February 2021 there is a drop of 80%”, said Cryshtian Amador Lizardi, director of the Puerto Vallarta International Airport.
Until two weeks ago, Puerto Vallarta flights traveled to five Canadian destinations, including Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton and Vancouver, but “as a result of the restriction that occurred at the end of January, the traffic (of Canadian passengers) has fallen, in addition to the measurements and tests for passengers going to the United States ”.
Before the pandemic, there were 16 destinations to Canada and in recent months the connection was reduced to five, but has now been currently suspended.
Amador Lizardi recalled that February historically represents a drop in traffic, when winter ends and people who visited the destination to have a better climate, return to their cities of origin, mainly in the United States and Canada, however, this February brought the worst numbers.
On average per day, they receive around 900 US arriving passengers and the same number of departures, but on weekends there are around 1,700 passengers arriving and the same number departing, a figure well below the usual. In the last week of January, it was mandatory to present a negative test for Covid-19 to enter the USA, which also impacted arrivals and departures.
An average of 200 Covid-19 tests are performed per day for travelers going to the United States in the laboratory located at the Puerto Vallarta airport.
