Halifax Stanfield set to welcome first international flight since April 2020

By Mark Hodgins

For the first time since Apr. 1, 2020, an international commercial flight will be landing at Halifax Stanfieild International Airport. 

Condor flight 2414 from Frankfurt, Germany is scheduled to arrive at the airport at 7:55 p.m. Thursday, days after the federal government loosened border restrictions to allow fully vaccinated international travellers to enter the country. 

Airport spokesperson Tiffany Chase says the Condor flights will be operating non-stop twice a week until early November, a shorter season than usual. 

“It certainly is a great opportunity for those looking to reconnect, either people who've been in Germany that have been separated from family or from their homes, we're looking forward to welcoming those passengers,” Chase explained. 

International travellers will be required to meet vaccination and testing requirements in order to be allowed into Canada.

Despite the optimism around Thursday's arrival, there is still a long way to go before Stanfield will be back to pre-pandemic operations. 

“We don't have any regularly scheduled U.S. or other international flights until closer to December,” Chase said. “Those would be the sun destinations that would typically be popular destinations for Nova Scotians in winter.”

Chase added the airport is currently at 30 to 40 per cent of pre-pandemic passenger traffic levels, and says number of airport businesses have not yet reopened due to both low passenger traffic and a labour shortage impacting the hospitality industry. 

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