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Close to 30 B.C. flights flagged for possible COVID-19 exposure in past week

Flights were added to the list between Feb. 7 and 14.
Valerie Leung
Valerie Leung
coronavirus-flight
The wing of an airplane. (via Canadian Press)

The BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) has added 29 flights through B.C. airports to its list of possible COVID-19 exposures.

The flights were added to BCCDC’s online list of public exposures between Feb. 7 and 14. Of the 29 flights, 18 were domestic and 11 were international.

The affected flights are:

  • Feb. 11: Sunwing Airlines flight 2860 from Mexico City to Vancouver (affected rows: 2 to 8, 10 to 16 and 22 to 28)
  • Feb. 11: Flair flight 8101 from Vancouver to Toronto (affected rows: 27 to 33)
  • Feb. 11: Air Canada flight 103 from Toronto to Vancouver (affected rows no reported)
  • Feb.10: Air Canada flight 8550 from Vancouver to Regina (affected rows: 13 to 19)
  • Feb.10: Canadian North flight 5T1501 from Terrace to Edmonton (affected rows: 18 to 24)
  • Feb. 9: Air Canada flight 106 from Vancouver to Toronto (affected rows: 18 to 21)
  • Feb. 9: Flair flight 8821 from Toronto to Vancouver (affected rows: 14 to 20)
  • Feb. 8: WestJet flight 126 from Vancouver to Calgary (affected rows: 4 to 10)
  • Feb. 8: WestJet flight 3106 from Terrace to Vancouver (affected rows: 3 to 9)
  • Feb. 7: Air Canada flight 8414 from Vancouver to Kelowna (affected rows: 4 to 10)
  • Feb. 7: Air Canada flight 8239 from Terrace to Vancouver (affected rows: 12 to 18)
  • Feb. 7: Air Canada flight 234 from Vancouver to Edmonton (affected rows: 12 to 15)
  • Feb. 7: Air Canada flight 45 from Delhi to Vancouver (affected rows: 12 to 14)
  • Feb. 7: AeroMexico flight 696 from Monterrey to Vancouver (affected rows: 14 to 16)
  • Feb. 6: WestJet flight 195 from Calgary to Victoria (affected rows: 6 to 12)
  • Feb. 6: WestJet flight 139 from Calgary to Vancouver (affected rows: 8 to 14)
  • Feb. 6: Air Canada flight 44 from Vancouver to Delhi (affected rows not reported)
  • Feb. 6: KLM flight 681 from Amsterdam to Vancouver (affected rows:  18 to 22)
  • Feb. 5: AeroMexico flight 696 from Mexico City to Vancouver (affected rows not reported)
  • Feb. 4: Air Canada flight 115 from Toronto to Vancouver (affected rows: 22 to 28)
  • Feb. 3: Cathay Pacific flight 888 from Hong Kong to Vancouver (affected rows: 66 to 72)
  • Feb. 3: Air Canada flight 210 from Vancouver to Calgary (affected rows: 22 to 28)
  • Feb. 3: AeroMexico flight 696 from Mexico City to Vancouver (affected rows: 22 to 28)
  • Feb. 2: Air Canada flight 554 from Vancouver to Los Angeles (affected rows: 34 to 40)
  • Feb. 2: Air France flight 74 from Paris to Vancouver (affected rows not reported)
  • Feb. 2: WestJet flight 164 from Vancouver to Edmonton (affected rows: 12 to 18)
  • Feb. 1: Air Canada flight 223 from Calgary to Vancouver (affected rows: 16 to 22)
  • Feb. 1: Lufthansa flight 492/Air Canada flight 9101 from Frankfurt to Vancouver (affected rows: 19 to 25)
  • Jan. 31: WestJet flight 3315 from Calgary to Comox (affected rows: 1 to 5)

Passengers seated in the affected rows – listed when available – should be “considered to be at higher risk of exposure due to their proximity to the case,” according to the BCCDC.

Domestic passengers on a flight with a confirmed case of COVID-19 are advised to self-monitor for symptoms for 14 days, and get tested if any develop. While domestic travellers are not required to quarantine, health officials have been advising against non-essential travel for months. 

Key symptoms to watch out for include fever or chills, cough, loss of sense of smell or taste and difficulty breathing.

Meanwhile, those arriving on flights from outside of Canada are required to isolate for 14 days under the federal Quarantine Act.

Further travel restrictions announced

On Jan. 29, the federal government announced new rules in a bid to discourage non-essential, international travel and Canada's main airlines have agreed to suspend service to Mexico and the Caribbean.

Air Canada, Westjet, Sun Wing and Air Transat, will cancel their flights to those sun destinations beginning Sunday, Jan. 31, until April 30.

The new restrictions are aimed at stemming the spread of new variants of COVID-19.

Starting next week, international flights will also only be able to land at four airports: Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal and Toronto.

Furthermore, once they land, international travellers will be required to take a PCR test at the airport to determine if they have COVID-19. While they await their test results, they will need to wait at an approved hotel for up to three days at their own expense – which is estimated at about $2,000.

This is in addition to the pre-flight testing for international travellers put in place on Jan. 7.

In the coming weeks, non-essential travellers will also have to provide a negative test at the land border with the U.S.

Those who test negative for the virus will be allowed to quarantine at home, while those international travellers who test positive will be send to a designated government facility to quarantine.

  • With files from Kirsten Clarke/Richmond News and Stefan Labbé/Tri-City News