July 6 - As WestJet continues to manage through the ongoing effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic, they understand that you may have some questions regarding their reintroduction of the middle seat for sale.

 

WestJet is sorry for any distress this has caused. WestJet is a highly safety sensitive organization in one of the most carefully regulated industries and every decision they make has the safety of the guests and WestJetters at the forefront.

 

From the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, WestJet invested quickly in hygiene and safety measures to mitigate the risk throughout the entire travel journey, investing millions of dollars’ worth of equipment, cleaning and additional measures to protect those who had to fly.

 

With a vaccine not yet produced, WestJet is learning to live responsibly with the virus as it’s here with us for the foreseeable future. With the many safeguards and procedures implemented, WestJet is certain travel can be undertaken safely while allowing for economies to begin growing again and putting Canadians back to work.

 

The blocked middle seat was introduced at the beginning of the pandemic before the myriad of safety measures were put in place and mandated on board. WestJet’s temporary distancing measures were enacted at the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak to provide the guests who had to travel with the peace of mind while WestJet’s extra hygiene measures were planned and implemented.

 

Seat distancing was one of the first measures WestJet has adopted temporarily before they implemented:

• Transport Canada-mandated mask wearing for both employees and guests
• Transport Canada-mandated health questionnaire pre-boarding
• Electrostatic fogging on our aircraft
• Removal of all published material on board to reduce the risk of spread via contact
• Modifications to inflight service to reduce contact between guests and crew
• Non-contact temperature scanning at all WestJet’s bases

 

Seat distancing was never intended to be in place permanently or throughout the pandemic. What makes an airplane, and the entire journey, safe is the layers of enhanced cleaning, the wearing of masks and the hospital-grade HEPA filters that remove 99.999 per cent of all airborne particles. The hygiene standards WestJet has now are world-class and backed by industry experts.

 

WestJet is proud to have served Canadians throughout this pandemic and while they have greatly reduced their service, WestJet has maintained flying to 38 domestic cities to ensure that essential products, workers and services were able to get where they needed to be. WestJet has also repatriated thousands of Canadians to a safer environment back home in Canada. They have been working tirelessly for Canadians to ensure their health and safety and the operations today are no different in that regard.

 

 

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