Toronto Pearson International Airport will no longer separate fully vaccinated and unvaccinated passengers just days after setting up different immigration lines for the two groups.
The airport had said that splitting the two groups would streamline the border clearance process because fully vaccinated travellers are eligible for certain quarantine and testing exemptions.
The move followed a similar policy introduced by Vancouver airport but critics feared segregating the two groups was turning unvaccinated or partially vaccinated travellers into second class citizens.
But on Monday, a spokesperson for the Greater Toronto Airports Authority said the policy had already been reversed. Officials said the decision was taken after they concluded that creating separate lines resulted “in minimal operational efficiencies.”
Instead, entry requirements based on vaccination status will be checked once the passenger reaches a border guard.
Currently, fully vaccinated Canadian citizens can skip quarantine on arrival in Canada from an international destination. From August 9, the same privilege will be extended to US citizens as the country reopens to non-essential ‘discretionary’ travel.
By September 7, travel restrictions will be eased for all other nationalities that have received the full dosing of either the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca/COVISHIELD, or Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) vaccine.
