WestJet expands pre-travel Hawaii testing to British Columbia

Negative COVID test exempts travellers from Hawaii quarantine

CALGARY, AB, Dec. 7, 2020 /CNW/ - WestJet today announced it has collaborated with LifeLabs in British Columbia to offer State of Hawaii-approved pre-departure testing. A negative COVID test within 72-hours of departure will exempt the guest from the state's required 14-day quarantine.

"WestJet is pleased to facilitate pre-departure travel testing in British Columbia for the start of our Hawaii flying," said Billy Nolen, WestJet Vice-President Safety, Security and Quality. "COVID-19 testing is key to ensuring safe and confident travel. We are pleased to be working with LifeLabs to offer testing approved by the State of Hawaii for our guests travelling from BC."

As Canada's largest medical laboratory, LifeLabs is focused on providing Canadians with COVID-19 testing solutions that keeps them safe – whether it's in their own communities or when travelling abroad," said Charles Brown, President and CEO of LifeLabs. "We are proud to partner with WestJet to provide their guests with access to testing and high-quality, reliable results."

Those wishing to book a pre-departure test from British Columbia can do so by locating a LifeLab partner clinic listed on westjet.com/covidtesting page. The cost of the test is $250 plus tax, payable by the guest. WestJet and LifeLabs will have more information on additional BC testing locations shortly.

Guests travelling to Hawaii are responsible for ensuring they receive a test within 72-hours of their flight departing to Hawaii in order to avoid quarantine and will be required to display their negative test result prior to boarding. If test results are not available before boarding the final leg of the trip, the traveller must quarantine for 14 days or the length of the stay, whichever is shorter.

All visitors intending to visit Hawaii must register prior to travel: Hawaii entrance requirements are found at https://hawaiicovid19.com/travel/.

Last month, WestJet announced its December schedule including twice-weekly, non-stop service between Vancouver and Honolulu and Vancouver and Maui. The airline will also be flying non-stop Dreamliner service between Calgary and Honolulu and Calgary and Maui in partnership with DynaLife.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, WestJet has implemented more than 20 additional health and safety measures during the travel journey and continues to evolve its cleaning protocols to meet the needs of guests and WestJetters through its Safety Above All program.

About WestJet 
Since the start of the pandemic the WestJet Group of Companies has built a layered framework of safety measures to ensure Canadians can continue to travel safely and responsibly through the airline's Safety Above All hygiene program. During this time, WestJet has maintained its status as one of the top-10 on-time airlines in North America as named by Cirium.

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Recent recognition includes: 
2019/2018/2017 Best Airline in Canada (TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice awards for Airlines) 
2019 Winner Among Mid-Sized Airlines in North America (TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice awards for Airlines) 
2019 Number-One Ranked Canadian Airline Loyalty Program in Member Engagement (Bond Brand Loyalty) 
2019/2018 Number-One-Ranked Airline Credit Card in Canada (Rewards Canada) 

About LifeLabs
LifeLabs is Canada's leading provider of laboratory diagnostic information and digital health connectivity systems, enabling patients and health care practitioners to diagnose, treat, monitor, and prevent disease. We support 20 million patient visits annually and conduct over 100 million laboratory tests through leading-edge technologies and our 5,700 talented and dedicated employees. We are a committed innovator in supporting Canadians to live healthier lives, operating Canada's first commercial genetics lab and the country's largest online patient portal, with more than 4.1 million Canadians receiving their results online. LifeLabs is 100% Canadian owned by OMERS Infrastructure, the infrastructure investment manager of one of Canada's largest defined benefit pension plans.

Learn more at lifelabs.com

SOURCE WESTJET, an Alberta Partnership