‘Maybe … give us a little break?’: Canadian businesses rush to ready for Monday’s border reopening – By Bailey Schulz (USA Today) / Aug 7 2021
When Anna Pierce first heard the Canadian border would be reopening to fully vaccinated U.S. travelers, she was nearly brought to happy tears.
The vice president and general manager of Niagara Helicopters, an Ontario-based company that offers helicopter tours, described operations amid the COVID-19 pandemic as a “terrible roller coaster,” with travel restrictions for both domestic and international travelers curbing business dramatically.
“On a typical day (before the pandemic), we would do upwards of 80 flights with six passengers in each flight,” she said. “It went down to as low as four flights a day last summer.”
Pierce hopes Monday’s border reopening date will allow Niagara Helicopters to salvage reservations in September and October, a popular time because the company can offer an aerial view of Niagara Falls’ changing leaves, but the company is lacking one key component: staffing.
