OTTAWA — The National Airlines Council of Canada (NACC) is calling on the federal government to take “immediate action” and provide financial support to airlines following the cancellation of all sun destination flights through April 30, 2021.

The cancellations, made at the request of the federal government, went into effect on Jan. 31 in an effort to secure Canada’s borders against COVID-19 and its new variants. All flights to and from Mexico and the Caribbean with Air Canada, WestJet, Sunwing and Transat have been impacted.

In addition to financial aid, NACC, which represents Canada’s largest air carriers including Air Canada, Air Transat, Jazz Aviation and WestJet, is also calling on the government to develop an aviation recovery strategy that will help restart the economy.

“We recognize the statements made by the government that a healthy aviation sector is critical to Canada and our economy, and that the government is committed to working with the sector on a true recovery strategy that incorporates a science-based approach to testing and quarantine measures, and that the government is also committed to providing sectoral support for the industry overall,” said Mike McNaney, President and CEO of NACC.

“We need to ensure we take substantive action soon,” he added. “Countries that have a true recovery strategy in place for their aviation sectors will be the best positioned to ensure the safe restart of their economy, to bring back jobs and investment and to successfully compete and take market share from countries that are not well prepared.

“There is a great deal at stake in the coming months and we look forward to engagement with the government on a clear and substantive sectoral recovery strategy.”