Passenger safety briefing with face masks

Squamish

Coronavirus Pandemic: Operational Updates

We’ve all been through a tough time, but we’re in it together. In situations like this the health of our staff, guests and our community is vital. Here’s how we’re responding to the pandemic from our little patch in the mountains.

COVID-19 policies for all flights

Updated October 1st 2022

As of October 1st 2022, passengers are no longer required to wear a mask on board their flight, and will no longer be required to answer a health check questionnaire prior to boarding.

Our aircraft will continue to be sanitized after each flight, as well as touch points in our office areas. If you feel more comfortable wearing a mask on board your flight you are more than welcome to do so.

Updated June 20th 2022

As of June 20, 2022, passengers are no longer required to show proof of vaccination for any flights.

Updated April 8th 2022

BC Vaccination Passports

We will be following guidelines from Transport Canada and will not be checking vaccine passports after April 8th.

Exceptions to this are for charter flights that are heading to certain airports such as YVR (Vancouver international) and YYJ (Victoria International), where proof of double vaccination is still required. For full details and to see if these rules may affect your charter flight please call our office on 604 898 1975.

Updated march 12 2022

BC Mask Mandate

Masks are still required to be worn on board any of our flights at all times as required by the Government of Canada. However wearing a mask in our office and airside in now a personal choice. Guests are no longer required to wear a mask to access any of our buildings.

Updated May 2022

These are the protective measures that you can expect to see, and will be requested to abide by during your experience with Sea To Sky Air.

Personal Protective Equipment – All guests and crew are required to wear a face mask or covering while on board the aircraft. Masks will be available for purchase if you do not bring your own with you, or if your mask does not fit correctly. Masks are optional inside the Sea To Sky Air office.
Sanitizing between every flight – We have modified our flight schedule to enable thorough cleaning and sanitizing our aircraft and office in between every flight.
Physical distancing – Sea To Sky Air crew will be demonstrating, and all guests will be expected to respect physical distancing.
Hand sanitizer is readily available – We request that all customers properly sanitise their hands upon arrival.
Health status confirmation prior to boarding – All guests will be required to answer the following questions prior to boarding:
- Do you have a fever and a cough?
- Do you have a fever and breathing difficulty?
- Do you suspect that you might have COVID-19, or have you had COVID-19 in the past 10 days?
- Are you currently under mandatory quarantine, as a result of recent travel or by orders from the provincial, territorial or local public health authorities?
  - If you have to answer ‘YES’ to any of the health check questions, or refuse to answer any of the questions you will not be allowed to board your flight.
If you are feeling unwell please do not come for your flight – If you need to reschedule your flight because you are feeling unwell there will be no fees for you to do so. Simply call the office on 604 898 1975 or email fly@seatoskyair.ca and we will work with you to rebook your flight.
As a federally regulated air service you can rest assured that all of the crew at Sea To Sky Air have been fully vaccinated.

Wearing of face masks or coverings inside the Sea To Sky Air office will be at your own discretion in alignment with the March 16th Public Health Announcement. Face masks or coverings are still mandatory while on board the aircraft for your flight.

These measures are implemented under direction from Transport Canada Interim Orders, Public Health Orders and by the Sea To Sky Air communicable disease prevention plan.

Letter from Carlo: President & CEO, Sea To Sky Air

UPDATE: MAY 22, 2020

Hi everyone

What a few months it has been. With the collective efforts that have been made by all in British Columbia and Canada the rate of growth in COVID-19 cases has steadily declined. B.C’s progress in the fight against COVID-19 is the direct result of the sacrifices and decisions that we have all made. Thank you.

We are excited to announce that in the coming weeks we will be resuming our sightseeing flight operations. The safety of our staff and guests has always, and will always be our number one priority. As a result we have made the following changes to our experiences:

We will be operating with a modified schedule to allow for full sanitization of the aircraft in between every flight.
All flights will be made private at no additional cost.. This means that you will only ever be flying with people from your own group, never with someone from outside of your group.
Every passenger will be subject to a health check prior to boarding the aircraft.
Everyone will be required to bring their own face mask or covering to wear at all times on board the aircraft and at any time when 2 metre distancing is not possible.
Hand sanitizer will be readily available in the Sea To Sky Air office.
If you or anyone in your group is experiencing symptoms, we will work with you to reschedule your flight at no charge.

The updates to our protocols have been set in place under guidance by Transport Canada standards, Canada Labour standards, WorkSafe BC standards as well as guidance from the Public Health Office of British Columbia and the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.

With these measures in place we are looking forward to once again being able to make the transformative power of raw wilderness and the Squamish backcountry accessible to all. We can’t wait to see you!

Thanks,

Carlo

UPDATE: March 26, 2020

Hi Everyone,

It has been a challenging week for citizens here in Squamish and around the world. Sea To Sky Air remains closed to the public. At this point, there are too many uncertainties to safely resume normal operations in the midst of this unfolding pandemic. We will continue to look for guidance from the BC Centre for Disease Control and our health ministry to understand how and when we can proceed safely. We will not be resuming operations without the province’s cooperation and approval, or until social-distancing measures are relaxed or a broad return-to-work framework is in place.

How long might this take? At this time, I can’t say. And, I won’t make any predictions. Internally, we are making preparations to ensure that we can weather this crisis. One of which is a move to reduced office hours, which may result in slower than normal response times to telephone and email enquiries.

We know everyone is facing challenges right now, and we want to wish you all the best as we all work through this crisis. A lot is being asked of everybody right now. We appreciate the efforts and sacrifices that everyone is making. Thanks everyone. We’ll get through this. Stay safe, stay strong.

Best,

Carlo

March 16, 2020

Hi Everyone,

I’m writing to let you know that we have made the decision to suspend flight operations through March 27.

We feel that this is a necessary step in fighting the spread of COVID-19 (Coronavirus), helping each of us contribute to the urgent and collective effort to ‘flatten the curve’ through social distancing.

The health of our staff, our guests and are community are always our priority, both in and out of the aircraft. In that context, this was an easy decision to make. We will do our absolute best to keep all of our amazing staff on the payroll through this time. As a small business, this will present us with hardship, but we will recover. Our phones will still be answered during office hours and our team will be working remotely to answer your questions and manage your flight reservations.

We have removed all barriers to re-booking your flights. No fees. No costs. No hassles. We will also be honouring all reservations and gift card purchases for our popular spring Locals Deal. In addition, all of our flight experiences will continue to be available for purchase as gift cards which will remain fully transferable and will never expire.

To be sure, there are challenging times ahead for all of us in the near term. However, as we all know: this too, soon shall pass. And when it does, we’ll be here to help you rediscover the beauty of this magical place we all call home. Thanks for your support.

Please take care of yourselves, your families, and your communities.

Be well,

Carlo

UPDATE: March 13, 2020

I am writing to you today to provide information regarding the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and what we at Sea To Sky Air are doing in response.

The safety of our guests and our crew remains our highest priority.

From the onset of the coronavirus, we have vigilantly monitored the guidance provided by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), Transport Canada and other agencies to ensure we are aware of, and aligned with, guidance regarding community, workplace, and air-travel safety.

We have introduced additional measures to increase the sanitization of our aircraft and our office spaces. Specifically:

We will ensure frequent cleaning of ‘high-touch surfaces’ in our aircraft including the headsets, seatbelt buckles, latches and door handles.
We will ensure the frequent cleaning of ‘high-touch surfaces’ around the office such as door handles, office equipment, water cooler taps, desks, telephones, etc.
We will encourage and enforce frequent hand hygiene, sneeze and cough etiquette, and social distancing measures when ill.

In addition, we have further streamlined our always flexible reservation policy by removing the administration fee charged to guests for flight changes due to sickness. If you have an upcoming booking and are not feeling well, we encourage you to call us to reschedule your reservation.

As always, to keep yourself and the people around you healthy, remember to:

Isolate yourself from others if you have respiratory symptoms (coughing, sneezing, shortness of breath) and/or a temperature above 100.4 F.
Shield coughs and sneezes with a tissue, elbow, or shoulder (not the bare hands)
Wash hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds and use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer when available.
Keep your hands away from your face.

And, we’ll add that it’s sensible to avoid shaking hands entirely to reduce the risk of spreading infection. Though that might feel awkward at times, it’s an increasingly common practice in hospitals, clinics, and many workplaces.

It is important that we all remain diligent about hygiene and community health so we can do our part to help slow the transmission of this virus. Preventing the spread of infections such as colds, flu and stomach bugs is always front of mind for us. This year we have cause to be especially diligent. I have included some credible sources of information below for those that want to seek more information.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Thanks,

Carlo

Additional Official Coronavirus Resources

Checking for symptoms

If you or someone you know is experiencing possible COVID-19 symptoms, call the provincial health information hotline at 8-1-1, or contact the B.C Centre for Disease Control at 1-833-784-4397.

You can also conduct an initial self-diagnosis at the provincial government’s HealthLinkBC page: https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/health-topics/hwsxchk