After some time on layoff status, about 55 of Air Canada’s Montreal-based employees returned to work this month and are donning the Air Canada rondelle, ready to support Quebec’s large-scale vaccination operation in the workplace.

Air Canada, ADM Aéroports de Montréal, Bombardier and Biron Health Group joined forces to create the YUL vaccination hub. The campaign to inoculate the partnering organizations’ employees and their immediate family has the capacity to vaccinate more than 50,000 members of the aviation community, relieving pressure from the public health sector.

“It certainly is not like being on an airplane. We're here to support the Biron Groupe Santé staff, who are doing the actual vaccinations. We’re welcoming patients that will be coming in and guiding them through the site ensuring that - from A to Z –the experience is seamless for them and, of course, ensuring that they're healthy and that they're well taken care of,” said Julie Pornillos, a flight attendant at Air Canada.

The YUL Vaccination Hub opens as the province-wide COVID-19 vaccination campaign inoculate everyone 16 and older scales up.

“I’m really happy to be here and be able to contribute and give something back to the community. I think that’s the most important part for us to get started again and be able to open up all these industries that have been closed for some time now,” Pornillos continued.

“We have been playing a key role since the beginning of the pandemic in implementing safety measures for our customers and employees. It goes without saying that we now actively participate with our partners in this large-scale vaccination operation in the workplace,” said Sam Elfassy, Vice President – Safety at Air Canada. “We’ve recalled furloughed employees in Montreal and in BC to support these vaccination efforts. A similar initiative will be launched in Toronto later this month. Contributing to this collective effort will not only ensure the health and safety of our employees, but will also contribute to the reopening of the economy and the recovery of our industry."

The Montreal-based initiative launches following a similar effort that took place in Coquitlam, B.C., at the Poirier Forum Vaccine Clinic. In just under a month, over 45,000 individuals were vaccinated and the clinic relied on 100 Air Canada employees currently on inactive status to provide expertise and logistical support as non-clinical staff. Vaccination clinics in Toronto for employees and their immediate family members are to open as well. Air Canada is partnering with the Ontario government and Region of Peel to open a clinic facilitating vaccinations later this month for eligible employees and Peel Region residents.

The two vaccination sites for the YUL Hub are located at:

• The Bombardier hangar located at 1200 Percival-Reid Street, just off Côte-Vertu Boulevard West
• At Montreal Trudeau airport (clinic located on the departures level of the terminal building);

This clinic is available for all Air Canada, Air Canada Rouge and Air Canada Vacations employees, active and inactive, and their immediate family members (family members must be 18 years of age or older who currently live with the employee). Eligibility will be based on government priority groups.

Appointments are first come, first served. The second YUL clinic at Montréal-Trudeau International Airport is planned to open on May 13.