'Never asked': B.C. couple claims COVID-19 documentation wasn't checked on international flight

CALGARY -

A British Columbia man says he and his wife weren't asked for proof of vaccination or for negative COVID-19 tests on a flight from Cabo San Lucas to Calgary this week.

Ken Poirier said everyone on his flight from Mexico was left unchecked, and he's now wondering why he spent the time and money getting a COVID-19 test done if it went unused. 

"Nobody ever asked us anything about COVID-19," Poirier told CTV News. "Not for our (vaccine) passports, not for the negative test report, nothing."

"I could've saved myself $80 US and not done it and nobody would ever be the wiser."

Poirier said he and his wife took the trip because they are both fully vaccinated and wanted to get out of the country. 

"So the vaccinations and the testing process and that was supposed to be the safety gap where we could feel comfortable knowing that everybody on the plane is protected," Poirier said. "But that wasn't the case."

The airline said it is investigating the allegations.

"Most certainly we are looking into it and we are going to see what the situation was, specifically in Mexico," WestJet public relations manager Morgan Bell said. "(We want to find out) why that situation may not have been consistent with all of the other experiences that we're having."

The Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA) says the onus falls on air carriers to check documentation. 

However, spokesperson Rebecca Purdy also wrote that "the mandatory digital submission of information via the ArriveCAN app prior to entry to Canada assists the CBSA to systematically identify fully-vaccinated travellers, and has reduced the need for travellers to provide paper documentation on arrival."

Bell echoed that proof of vaccination on the app is technically a legal attestation, but Westjet passengers are typically checked again.