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Although the province of Nova Scotia dropped all masking and vaccination requirements as of 21-Mar-2022, air transportation is federally regulated, and as such, is subject to the requirements of Transport Canada's Interim Order Respecting Certain Requirements for Civil Aviation Due to COVID-19.
*While every effort will be made to keep the above IO link up to date, it is amended every 2 weeks or less, so there may be a delay between a change in rules and the updating of this site.
Since many browsers buffer content for faster viewing, you should reload the page frequently (i.e. select CTL-F5 for some browsers) as its content is changed on a regular basis.
Vaccination Status (IO 17.2, 17.3)
Per the Government of Canada's vaccination mandate for air travel, all passengers over the age of 12 years and 4 months must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. This means that at least 14 full days prior to the flight, a passenger has had two or more doses of one of the vaccines recognized by the government of Canada, or one dose of Janssen/Johnson & Johnson.
Example: A person receives their second dose on the 1st of the month. 14 full days would take them through the 15th of the month, so the 16th would be the first day that they would be eligible to travel.
All Sable Aviation pilots are fully vaccinated.
Proof of Vaccination (IO 17.10)
All passengers must provide ID and proof of full vaccination that shows the person's full name, the entity that administered the shots (e.g. provincial government), the type of vaccine(s) received, and a date when the final dose was received. QR codes are not acceptable. At present, booster shots are not required to be considered fully vaccinated, however, this requirement could change at any time.
If you were vaccinated in Nova Scotia, you can access your record online.
Health Check (IO 8, 9)
Passengers must complete a company health check form prior to boarding indicating that they do not have symptoms of COVID-19 (fever, cough, and/or breathing difficulties), do not suspect they have it, and have not had COVID-19 within the last 10 days (per the Interim Order). Since Nova Scotia's quarantine period is only 7 days, persons who have had COVID-19 more than 7 days ago but less than 10 days ago may be exempt from the 10 day prohibition if they can present one of the documents outlined in the next section.
COVID-like Symptoms (IO 9(2))
If a passenger is exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms from an unrelated condition such as asthma or COPD, or they have tested positive for COVID-19 more than 7 days ago but less than 10 days ago, they will only be allowed to board the aircraft if they are in possession of one of the following:
(1) a medical certificate indicating that the symptoms are due to an unrelated medical condition;
(2) a negative COVID-19 molecular test that was performed on a specimen collected no more than 72 hours before the flight;
(3) a negative COVID-19 antigen test that was performed on a specimen collected no more than 24 hours before the flight; or
(4) a positive COVID-19 molecular test that was performed on a specimen collected at least 10 days and no more than 180 days before the flight.
Calculating the Mandatory Isolation Requirement
The mandatory federal isolation requirement of 10 days is counted from the day after symptoms appeared, or the day after a positive COVID-19 test result, whichever occurred first.
Example:
If symptoms appeared on May 1, but the person didn't get a positive COVID-19 test result until May 4, May 2 would count as day 1 of the isolation period. That means that May 11 would be the 10th day, and travel could occur on May 12.
Under Nova Scotia rules, the 7 day isolation period would end on May 8, and travel could occur on May 9, so long as the person could present a negative COVID-19 test meeting the requirements of the section listed above. If after 7 days the person was still testing positive for COVID-19, they would have to wait the full 10 days before being allowed to board a flight.
Face Masks (IO 1(4), 1(5), 18-24)
Passengers are required to wear an appropriate face mask during check-in, boarding, for the duration of the flight, and during embarkation. Due to the short duration of the flight, passengers will not be permitted to remove their mask to eat during flight. Passengers must comply with any instruction given by a crew member with respect to wearing a face mask.
A face mask means any medical or non-medical mask:
(1) made of multiple layers of tightly woven material such as cotton or linen;
(2) large enough to completely cover a person’s nose, mouth, and chin without gaping;
(3) that can be secured to a person's head with ties or ear loops;and
(4) that does not have an exhalation valve.
Gators and handkerchiefs are not suitable.
The portion of the mask in front of a wearer's lips may be made of transparent material that permits lipreading if the rest of the mask is multiple layers of tightly woven materials with a tight seal between the transparent material and the rest of the mask.
Exemption to Vaccination Requirement (IO 17.3(2d)(i/ii))
Transport Canada has defined certain extremely limited criteria when an unvaccinated person may be allowed to travel on a flight, such as when medically unable to be vaccinated. A completed temporary exemption request form and supporting documentation must be submitted to Sable Aviation at least 21 days in advance of a flight. It is only good for the one flight to which the paperwork refers, each additional flight must have its own exemption request and supporting documentation.
If the request for a temporary exemption is granted, on the day of the flight, the passenger must present the exemption documentation issued by Sable Aviation, as well as the results of a COVID-19 test as outlined in the above section under COVID-like Symptoms.
Denial of Boarding and Potential Penalties (IO 9, 17.14, 17.15)
Anyone who refuses to wear a face mask, cannot provide proof of vaccination or a valid exemption and appropriate COVID-19 test result, or exhibits symptoms of COVID-19 without having a medical certificate or appropriate COVID-19 test result will be denied boarding. In the case of tourist seats/flights, no refund, compensation, or consideration will be given.
The air carrier is required to report to Transport Canada the reason for the denial of boarding and information regarding the identification of the passenger.
Persons who provide false or misleading evidence regarding their vaccination status or health may be subject to fines of up to $5,000 for individuals and up to $25,000 for corporations.
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