Canada’s two largest airlines and two largest airports said on Friday they welcomed Transport Canada’s Flight Plan for Navigating COVID-19 calling it a major step forward in restarting Canada’s air travel industry. In a joint statement Air Canada, WestJet, the Greater Toronto Airports Authority and the Vancouver Airport Authority says that Flight Plan is an endorsement of biosafety programs already put in place by those entities.

The Government of Canada reiterated its recommendation that Canadians avoid non-essential international travel, but the Minister of Transport did announce Friday, changes to Canada’s Flight Plan for Navigating COVID-19. It’s described as a multi-layered system of safety measures. Key changes apply to airports, air travel, and aircraft.

Mandatory use of face masks for passengers and crew, mandatory health checks by air lines prior to passenger boarding, temperature screening at the business Canadian airports and at points of origin for all flights coming into Canada. There will be restricted services and passenger movement during flights as well as enhanced cleaning and sanitation protocols and practices.

In airports there will be enhanced air condition and filtration systems, frequent cleaning of high touch areas, new touchless technology to scan boarding passes and physical distancing measures. On the airplane themselves, the Minister noted air is exchanged at a high rate with HEPA filtration for most large commercial aircraft. He also says high seatbacks and most passengers seated in the same direction is an advantage.