Flights to Mexico cancelled over swine flu

EDMONTON — Edmontonians wanting to escape the seemingly endless wintry weather in Edmonton will have fewer options for flights to Mexico in the wake of mounting concerns about swine flu.

Air Transat and Sunwing vacations on Tuesday cancelled all flights to Mexico after a travel advisory from the Public Health Agency of Canada warned against travelling to that country.

All Air Transat flights to Mexico are suspended until June 1, but the airline will maintain returning flights until May 3, according to a travel advisory on the website. Sunwing will be delaying all Mexico flights until May 29.

Customers can change their travel destination or switch the date of their trip to Mexico as long as the trip is completed by Oct. 31, 2009.

WestJet will cease service as of Monday, May 4, to Cancun, Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta.

Service will resume to Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta on June 20, says a release from the airline. Service to Cancun, a seasonal destination for WestJet, will return in the fall schedule.

People who were scheduled to fly to Mexico between now and June 20,

can change their travel plans with no change or cancellation fees. They can also get a full refund.

The Air Transat and Sunwing websites say passengers will be required to cover any difference in costs associated with travel changes.

Two Tuesday morning flights to Mexico were largely business as usual at the Edmonton International Airport.

Passengers flying out to Mexico City and Cancun were warned of a Public Health Agency of Canada advisory when they checked in, said Traci Bednard, spokeswoman for the airport.

But people interviewed by The Journal who were booked on a WestJet flight to Cancun said they were prepared.

“A little flu bug isn’t going to stop me,” said Doug Klementovich. “Do you think I would give up spending my 50th birthday in Cancun just because somebody’s got a little bug?”

The businessman spends four months of the year in Mexico. He flies out every month for a week and equates this swine flu talk to the SARS scare of a few years ago. He said he’s going to wash his hands as much as possible, but won’t be wearing a mask. Cancun’s pretty far from Mexico City, he said.

“Did you wear a mask in Edmonton just because there was SARS in Toronto?”

Shawn MacDonald, 26, is a little more nervous. “I also know how everything gets so hyped up.”

He got a flu shot and packed plenty of hand sanitizer for his trip to Cancun. He said he had just got back to the city after five months in Mexico when the swine flu news broke. He went to the doctor but he’s fine and says he’s going back down there to do some marketing for a hotel.

Edmonton school boards have been more cautious. The Edmonton public school district has cancelled all travel outside of Canada and all air travel within Canada for field trips and business trips, said spokeswoman Jane Farrell. Letters will be sent home with students Tuesday, she said.

Lori Nagy, spokeswoman for the Catholic board, said all field trips — including two that were to leave this week — and all staff business trips are cancelled until further notice. There are six other field trips planned for May that could also be affected, Nagy said in a statement.

With files from Alexandra Zabjek

kcollins-lauber@thejournal.canwest.com

bgelinas@thejournal.canwest.com
© Copyright (c) The Edmonton Journal