Editor:
We’re writing this letter to debunk and demystify the myths about repatriation flights. The two of us flew back on one of these flights from Ecuador on March 25 after being trapped in Quito. Yes, the government did advise us to leave South America and return home. The problem was, we had a flight booked for five days later with no way of booking an earlier flight. This flight ended up being cancelled the day before our departure. We rebooked for two days later and this flight was also cancelled. We were stuck in Quito, Ecuador, a country on lockdown, with no way of travelling anywhere within the country and all flights in and out cancelled because of the government-imposed lockdown.
This is where the repatriation flights come in. The Canadian government in discussion with the Ecuadorian government agreed to a number of flights allowed to land at the closed down airport. Dates, times and conditions were decided. Then the government secured an airline company – in our case, Air Canada Rouge – to fly down with only its crew, no passengers, to come and rescue its citizens. The cost per passenger is set by the carrier to recoup costs. In our case, the flight from Quito to Toronto was close to $1,200 including taxes, per person. No one gets a free ride, and we didn’t expect one. We booked through the Air Canada website using a special code sent to us by the embassy. The Canadian taxpayer is not on the hook for the cost, only the flying passengers.
I know people are worried about us bringing the virus to Canada, but the Ecuadorian government was taking steps to minimize the virus, with a lockdown and curfews in place, way before anything in North America. We are now thankful to be home in Sechelt after our three-month South American holiday, isolating for 14 days.
Gerry and Carole Sauve, Sechelt
