Pilots push Trudeau for $5.3 billion bailout with airports quiet

Three unions representing airline workers are calling on the Canadian government to provide more than C$7 billion ($5.3 billion) in emergency aid for the aviation sector.

Canada has imposed strict measures that have choked off almost all air travel during the pandemic, including a requirement that anyone entering the country quarantine for 14 days. Through July, the recovery in air traffic in Canada was much slower than in the U.S.

Unifor, the Air Canada Pilots Association and the Canadian chapter of the Air Line Pilots Association are asking the government of Justin Trudeau to provide loan guarantees and money “dedicated to developing an evolving quarantine and testing plan,” the unions said in a release.

“Canada needs to step up and support its industry like most other countries,” said Unifor National President Jerry Dias in a statement. “There really is no more time to waste. We need urgent funds for the aviation sector or there won’t be Canadian airlines, and that will cost us all much more.”