Are Canadians allowed to fly to the United States right now?

[rosieposy]

I realize this is going to make some people mad, but I just want to know the technical rules. My sister lives in Ontario and she wants to come and visit me in Ohio for a few weeks. She’s 28 years old, healthy, and has already had the first Pfizer shot. She was planning on flying to Cleveland, visiting me in Ohio for a few weeks, and then driving across the border with me and we would quarantine for two weeks (and take all the tests and do all the paperwork we need to do) just the two of us at my parents’ cottage. I’m a US permanent resident, but a Canadian citizen. I haven’t been able to see my family in well over a year and this will be the only time I can visit them (because of the two week quarantine) for a while. I had Covid in February (very mild case, thankfully) and I am fully vaccinated. I know all the rules for driving into Canada, but is she even able to fly out of the country for nonessential reasons? I know it’s HIGHLY frowned upon, but are you actually able to do it? I’m sure I’ll get plenty of hate for this and we probably won’t even do it, but I miss my family so freaking much.

 

[bababear_50]

Hi Hon
I would strongly suggest contacting your sister's Air carrier and asking them the above questions.
Also Transport Canada would be another good resource to contact.
Also contact the Gov of Canada listed below.

https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid
https://www.aircanada.com/ca/en/aco/home/plan/travel-requirements.html
https://tc.canada.ca/en/initiatives...rt-canada/aviation-measures-response-covid-19
https://www.skyscanner.ca/tips-and-inspiration/coronavirus-information
Regards
Mel

 

[wdwmom3]

Also remember things can change at any time. So whatever the rules are now may not be the case a week or two from now. It’s possible your sister could fly there and while there they announce hotel quarantines for land crossings too (not saying they will, you just don’t know what will be added). So you would need to be prepared for things like that happening. And because they are already advising against non essential travel they can just change it with no notice.

 

[pigletto]

It might make people mad but not me . My sister lives in Tampa , and I’ve met my brand new nephew one time . If this were not Covid times he would know me well and I would be Auntie pigletto and we would see each other every couple of months . Instead , I’m a FaceTime stranger that will need to reintroduce myself when I meet him again and I don’t know when that will be . My story is not uncommon or even that sad , there are people who have it far worse . But I hate it for all of us .

I am hopeful that as we start to vaccinate more and more of our citizens that conversation will switch to what the requirements for cross border travel will be. I don’t think that this is sustainable much longer and that very soon fully vaccinated citizens should have some answers about what it will take to travel to some areas again .

As Mel said , the airlines themselves would be the best source for the actual information and requirements. I would have contingency plans in case things were to change mid visit and pay close attention to what the warnings and headlines were at the time. As we’ve seen , things can change very quickly .

And I’m sorry you miss your family so much . I get it and it doesn’t deserve any hate. It makes me sad for you and I hope you can see them soon

 

[DisDee1982]

Yes, You can. As long as her flight doesn’t get cancelled. Oh I hope you don’t get any bad comments! There are rules in place to protect everyone and it sounds like you are prepared for all of the testing and restrictions. One other thing to consider is getting groceries delivered to the cottage since you are supposed to go directly to your quarantine residence.

 

[wdwmom3]

Why don’t you just drive yourself here and meet your sister at the cottage and do a quarantine ? She can have it prepared with groceries etc. Then you wouldn’t even need to worry about flights.

 

[dancergirlsmom]

I live on the border with Canada. My hairdresser is married to a Canadian and he lives just over the border. He has caught a couple of flights out of Toronto to Detroit and spent a couple of months each time in the US then got a taxi back across the border. She hasn't mentioned that he had any problems doing this. Both of these trips happened last year with the last one ending in early January. Don't know about current situation.

 

[wdwmom3]

I live on the border with Canada. My hairdresser is married to a Canadian and he lives just over the border. He has caught a couple of flights out of Toronto to Detroit and spent a couple of months each time in the US then got a taxi back across the border. She hasn't mentioned that he had any problems doing this. Both of these trips happened last year with the last one ending in early January. Don't know about current situation.
[

They have changed things. He would now need a covid test to get back into Canada

 

[rosieposy]

Thanks everyone! I was really expecting to get raked over the coals so I appreciate your kindness. She called Pearson and they weren’t any help at all, but she hasn’t called the actual airlines yet so I’ll tell her to give that a try. We’ve read all the government information, but it isn’t super clear so I was hoping there would be some people in here that would know more or that have flown themselves. I will probably just end up driving there, but my sister has a big chunk of time off and she wanted to come and visit me and do some things around here for a few weeks. We were also thinking of taking a quick trip to Universal for a couple of days and flying on a cheap flight with Frontier or Spirit. We shall see. Everything is still so up in the air. I can’t wait until this is all over with. Sigh.

 

[wdwmom3]

Thanks everyone! I was really expecting to get raked over the coals so I appreciate your kindness. She called Pearson and they weren’t any help at all, but she hasn’t called the actual airlines yet so I’ll tell her to give that a try. We’ve read all the government information, but it isn’t super clear so I was hoping there would be some people in here that would know more or that have flown themselves. I will probably just end up driving there, but my sister has a big chunk of time off and she wanted to come and visit me and do some things around here for a few weeks. We were also thinking of taking a quick trip to Universal for a couple of days and flying on a cheap flight with Frontier or Spirit. We shall see. Everything is still so up in the air. I can’t wait until this is all over with. Sigh.

The airlines may not be of much help either. The problem is things can change on a daily basis. For example they just banned all flights from India from coming to Canada. There was almost no notice for that.

So best you could do is book a flight and see what happens. The airlines can’t guarantee it will be allowed or not. Especially if you are talking about some time from now.

 

[LauraLap]

As I type, I'm sure there are many Canadians at Disney right now who flew there and will quarantine when coming back. Things change, but for right now your sister is good to go. Enjoy her visit!

 

[Muskrat191]

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/after-travel-precautions.html

Your sister would be considered unvaccinated, so would need to self-isolate for 7 days after entering the US and be tested 3-5 days after entering the US. I'm not sure if a test is required for the flight to the US. Then you both would need tests within 72(?) hours of crossing the border and would need to self-isolate for 14 days in Canada. This means you would need to figure out grocery delivery, etc. at the cottage. You can't go into a store to pick up essentials while isolating/on the way to the cottage.

 

[Sue M]

As everyone says the rules are changing daily. Returning by air to Canada you have to Have a negative Covid test 72 hrs before entering, same by land.
But by air you also have to quarantine 3 days at a hotel for $2000, another Covid test, then 1 more before you end the 14 day quarantine. They could require this for driving across too. You may get 2-3 days notice so keep watching government web site.

Also I don’t think I’d be driving across with US plates on the car. People are getting very touchy and there are reports of cars being vandalized with out of province plates.
I’m in BC and we are in lockdown with travel prohibited outside our health region. We have the variant here pushing up numbers. I think Ontario is in a serious lockdown too. But the people here from Ontario can fill in on what their lockdown is.

Good luck. I understand the desire to see family, I have a brother, and family in the US and it really sucks right now not to be able to see them. But I think if we can hang in another 6 mos or so things will be better.

 

[DisneyDillyDally]

I think flying into US is easier than driving. My parents flew in one month ago with no issue and my dad flew in in November with no issue.

 

[elaine amj]

This means you would need to figure out grocery delivery, etc. at the cottage. You can't go into a store to pick up essentials while isolating/on the way to the cottage.

If delivery doesn't work, I wonder if curbside pickup would be acceptable? That's what I have been doing for groceries since December with PC Express. I call the number, open up my trunk and the staff loads my groceries in the trunk.

 

[sweethannah]

If delivery doesn't work, I wonder if curbside pickup would be acceptable? That's what I have been doing for groceries since December with PC Express. I call the number, open up my trunk and the staff loads my groceries in the trunk.

I think the point is to stay at home; if you have to go inside because your card won’t work or god forbid you get into an accident you are no longer in isolation.

 

[elaine amj]

I think the point is to stay at home; if you have to go inside because your card won’t work or god forbid you get into an accident you are no longer in isolation.

Like you said, isolation is the key

 

[azrivest]

Thanks everyone! I was really expecting to get raked over the coals so I appreciate your kindness.

Sending huge hugs and positive thoughts your way. No one is finding this easy.

We haven't been able to hold my grandmother's funeral in over a year since family members can't come here. So I understand where you're at.

 

[rosieposy]

Thanks so much everyone. My sister has already decided it’s too risky for her to fly here. Too many things are changing so quickly. It was really just kind of a pipe dream anyway. She will quarantine with me and then we will visit with my family when we’re done. Our parents can drop off food for us on the deck and I will bring a bunch of groceries from home. I really feel for people who have lost loved ones and haven’t been able to have closure or visit them while they were dying. It’s been a hard 13 months. Hopefully things will be much better by this time next year.

 

[Carolynleanne]

Yes, You can. As long as her flight doesn’t get cancelled. Oh I hope you don’t get any bad comments! There are rules in place to protect everyone and it sounds like you are prepared for all of the testing and restrictions. One other thing to consider is getting groceries delivered to the cottage since you are supposed to go directly to your quarantine residence.

Exactly my thoughts. If you guys go into this well aware of all the quarantine rules and testing requirements, she CAN cross the border. It's a pain in the butt, but it's far from impossible. And as mentioned, always being prepared for cancelled flights and schedule changes at the last moment.