Close X
Monday, November 11, 2024
ADVT 
National

China wants more Canada flights after COVID-19 turbulence, despite tour-group ban

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 25 Aug, 2023 09:59 AM
  • China wants more Canada flights after COVID-19 turbulence, despite tour-group ban

Beijing and Ottawa are in talks over how to increase flights between China and Canada, following an American deal in June.

Transport Canada says the weekly number of flights between the two countries has dropped drastically, from more than one hundred per week in the summer of 2019 to just 10 this season.

The decline stems from China's strict COVID-19 rules that Beijing relaxed earlier this year, which included limits on foreign flights and frequent quarantines and testing for visitors.

Aviation analyst Helane Becker says those rules made airlines break up their flights, making stops in places like Korea to rotate crews, and no direct flight between China and Canada has been re-established since then.

Meanwhile, Beijing has kept Canada out of an agreement that makes it easier for Chinese tour groups to travel abroad, citing the diplomatic strain around issues like foreign interference.

Yet both countries say they're in talks to increase the number of flights, with Ottawa hinting it might seek a deal similar to a recent American agreement.

 

MORE National ARTICLES

Canadians eligible for GST credit expected to receive 'grocery rebate' today

Canadians eligible for GST credit expected to receive 'grocery rebate' today
Canadians eligible for the GST credit are expected to receive a special payment today to help with the rising cost of groceries. The payment, which the Liberal government is calling the grocery rebate, was promised in the spring budget to help Canadians cope with food inflation.

Canadians eligible for GST credit expected to receive 'grocery rebate' today

B.C. port strike enters day five, with talks deadlocked over maintenance

B.C. port strike enters day five, with talks deadlocked over maintenance
The BC Maritime Employers Association meanwhile says the union is trying to "aggressively expand" its control of maintenance duties far beyond an agreement that the association says has been "legally well established for decades."

B.C. port strike enters day five, with talks deadlocked over maintenance

Tuesday set an unofficial record for the hottest day on Earth. Wednesday may break it.

Tuesday set an unofficial record for the hottest day on Earth. Wednesday may break it.
The planet's temperature spiked on Tuesday to its hottest day in at least 44 years and likely much longer, and Wednesday could become the third straight day Earth unofficially marks a record-breaking high, the latest in a series of climate-change extremes that alarm but don't surprise scientists

Tuesday set an unofficial record for the hottest day on Earth. Wednesday may break it.

Canadian government drops ads on Facebook, Instagram as Meta promises to block news

Canadian government drops ads on Facebook, Instagram as Meta promises to block news
The decision came after Meta promised to block Canadian news content on its Facebook and Instagram platforms in response to Canada's recently passed Online News Act. The new law will require tech giants pay media outlets for content they share or otherwise repurpose on their platforms.

Canadian government drops ads on Facebook, Instagram as Meta promises to block news

More campfire bans coming to B.C. by Friday as dry conditions raise wildfire danger

More campfire bans coming to B.C. by Friday as dry conditions raise wildfire danger
The BC Wildfire Service says, as of noon on Friday, campfires will no longer be permitted in the Kamloops Fire Centre. The restriction will also extend to include all areas of the Coastal Fire Centre, except Haida Gwaii.

More campfire bans coming to B.C. by Friday as dry conditions raise wildfire danger

Two dead as motorcycle and SUV collide between Lytton and Spences Bridge, B.C.

Two dead as motorcycle and SUV collide between Lytton and Spences Bridge, B.C.
Two people have died in a collision between a motorcycle and an SUV northeast of Lytton, British Columbia. A statement from RCMP says the crash happened just after 6 p.m. Monday on Highway 1 between Lytton and Spences Bridge. Staff Sgt. Kris Clark says both victims were on the motorcycle.

Two dead as motorcycle and SUV collide between Lytton and Spences Bridge, B.C.