Flying international – unvaccinated

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As an unvaccinated traveller
-- I thought I should share my experiences with others like myself who are not vaccinated for religious/ethical reasons. (10-20% of the Canadian population is not vaccinated depending on how you determine vaccination status. Figures change based on numerous variables: province/ vaccine series / doses/month…)
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WestJet: Vancouver to Rome  
-- WestJet, Lufthansa, and Air Canada are the airlines I have flown with to Italy in the summer months during Covid and the extensive restrictions on non-vaccinated individuals such as myself.

In June of 2020, I managed to fly to Rome on Air Canada via Toronto. And in June of 2021 to Rome via Frankfurt. Both summers had restrictions but not an outright ban on travel if you were unvaccinated. As most Canadians know, the Canadian Government introduced a travel ban in the autumn of 2021 for non-vaccinated travellers -- with few exceptions --flying out of Canadian airports whether domestic or international. I had my doubts whether I would be able to fly out of Canada this summer. A friend of mine, a Polish priest, wondered if he would ever be able to return to Poland. The fact is, we don’t know when the Laws will change or even if the Laws will change.

I wanted to book my June-August flights for this summer before the fares went up. WestJet appeared on my computer with an ad that they flew non-stop from Calgary to Rome, exactly where I wanted to go – Rome! And Vancouver was only a hop from Calgary. I went through the WestJet website and I noticed they had a section for non-vaccinated travellers, and a link, specifically for religious exemptions with an online form to complete. I thought of checking Air Canada, but their website sounded like they rarely give religious exemptions; I did not bother.

In April I immediately completed the necessary documents to request the religious exemption on WestJet. The airline that issues the religious exemption is the one you book and fly on. I prayed that my reasons justified the exemption. I also asked people to pray for me. I obtained the exemption, and I went ahead and booked my WestJet flights. Once I booked my flights from Vancouver to Rome via Calgary, following WestJet instructions, I discovered that my exemption would expire while I was still in Italy. Religious exemptions are only good for 3 months. I did not want to reapply; I asked if I could buy a one-way ticket since I also hold an Italian passport. Perhaps this didn’t make any difference, but WestJet did issue a one-way ticket based on my religious exemption.

The first major hurdle was over, I got the exemption. But the next hurdle, I was required to take a CPR test – not to enter Italy but to exit Canada. My PCR showed “negative.” On June 15th I was flying out of Canada! A few days later, June 20th, the travel ban on the unvaccinated travellers was lifted. But I was happy I booked as early as I had done; I did not want to wait to book a flight at the last minute with limited seats and higher airfares.

I’ve become somewhat of a neurotic traveller – even before Covid due to the “unexpected.” Probably because of my early travel experiences. When I was 16 years old I missed my Air Canada flight from Copenhagen to Toronto; managing with little cash I spent several days waiting for the next flight. And when I was 19 years old I slept on the floor at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv waiting for the next El Al flight to London. Mind you, given the number of flights between Vancouver and Harare (via Amsterdam), and Cape Town (via Singapore), and Bombay (via Munich), my travel experiences, thank God, have been excellent. 

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