Christmas Travel Program Details Announced

This year’s special Christmas/New Years Travel Program has been put in motion. The program aims to give Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) personnel and their immediate family the opportunity to be reunited during the holiday season.

Flights under this program will start on December 11, 2021, and conclude on January 4, 2022. Under this program, approval to travel on Canadian forces aircraft is not a financial entitlement and is considered non-duty travel.

However, as stated in a CANFORGEN released on August 9, 2021, “Personnel should note that in the event flights are cancelled, rerouted, or delayed, the member will be financially responsible for any travel and/or hotel costs incurred.”

Participants are advised that the COVID-19 pandemic could impact the travel program. Additional COVID-19 screening and in-flight protocols remain in effect for all flights. The CANFORGEN notes personnel should consult the SJS STRAT J4 TN website to view last-minute amendments being sent out through individual notifications to passengers holding confirmed reservations.

Application for seats under this program will be by categories (Cat) of travel, which in turn determines booking precedence.

Categories of Travel:

Cat 01

1. 1. Regular Force, Class B, and Class C Reserve Force Personnel and military personnel of USA, NATO and commonwealth forces on exchange with CAF personnel that are separated from their married-common law partner or dependants due to service reasons and not entitled to duty travel as recorded on their DND (Department of National Defence) 2587 (next of kin (NOK) identification form) held in the unit orderly room.
   2. Single Regular Force, Class B and Class C Reserve Force military personnel and military personnel of USA, NATO, and commonwealth forces on exchange with the CAF travelling to visit their NOK in accordance with CBI 10.1.01 Foreign Service Instructions, Definitions and CBI 209.50 Leave Travel Assistance.
   3. Married-common law and single military personnel travelling to reunite with family will be considered equally, with priority going to the earliest date and time an application was received at the National Passenger Service Centre (NPSC).

Cat 02

1. 1. All other CAF military personnel and eligible dependents, in accordance with CBI 209.50 Leave Travel Assistance, who are entitled to leave travel on a non-duty basis in line with DAOD 2016-0 Approval to Travel on Canadian Forces Aircraft and who do not already hold a confirmed Cat 01 seat.
   2. All requests will be considered equally, with priority going to the earliest date and time an application was received at NPSC.

Space Available Travel

1. 1. Active members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), not including spouse or dependants.
   2. Class A Reservists with two years of qualifying service.
   3. Military personnel of USA, NATO, and Commonwealth Forces, including accompanying dependants, on exchange with the CAF.

General application information

Applications have to be submitted using the special Christmas/New Years Leave Travel Program application form available on DWAN on this website.

Detailed application procedures for Cat 01

Military members meeting the requirements for Cat 01 may apply for travel under this category by:

1. 1. Completing a special Christmas/New Year’s leave travel program application form.
   2. Application forms are to be verified and digitally signed by members supervisor (minimum rank of Warrant Officer-Petty Officer 1st Class) to confirm entitlement to travel under Cat 01.
   3. Members must email their completed application form to and email to this email address here. The subject of the email to read: applicant name – rank – initials – full-service number.

NPSC will take Cat 01 applications from 1 p.m. EST September 21, 2021, to 1 p.m. EST November 30, 2021, inclusively.

According to the CANFORGEN, starting on September 23, 2021, Cat 01 applicants began to receive registration confirmation emails, and on October 4, 2021, Cat 01 applicants will start to get confirmed or unsuccessful booking notification emails.

All unsuccessful booking notifications will stay active and will keep being processed in the event seats become available until the application closing date, November 30, 2021, at 1 p.m. EST, unless otherwise cancelled by the applicant.

Detailed application procedures for Cat 02

Military members meeting the requirements for cat 02 may apply for travel under this category by:

1. 1. Completing a Special Christmas/New Years Leave Travel Program application form.
   2. Application forms need to be verified and digitally signed by members supervisors (minimum rank of Warrant Officer-Petty Officer 1st Class) to confirm entitlement to travel under Cat 02 and to confirm any listed dependants on the application form against the member’s personnel record resume (MPRR).
   3. Members must email the completed application form to this email. The subject of the email to read: applicant name – rank – initials – full – service number.

NPSC is accepting Cat 02 applications from 1 p.m. EST October 7, 2021, to 1 p.m. EST November 30, 2021, inclusively.

On October 14, 2021, Cat 02 applicants started to receive their registration confirmation emails. Later, October 21, 2021, applicants began receiving confirmed or unsuccessful booking notification emails.

All unsuccessful booking notifications will remain active and will continue to be processed in the event seats become available until the program application closing date, November 30, 2021, at 1 p.m. EST, unless otherwise cancelled by the applicant.

Application procedures for space-available travel

Applications for travel aboard the Special Christmas/New Years Leave Travel Program flights may be applied for on December 1, 2021, at 1 p.m. EST, by contacting NPSC from Monday to Friday, excluding holidays at 1-800-823-3857 between 7:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. EST.

“Where seats are available, requests will be actioned on a first-come, first-served basis while the member is on the phone. A reservation will immediately be created, and the member will receive a confirmation number,” the CANFORGEN also noted.

Application-reservation cancellations

Anyone looking to cancel a flight or don’t wish to have their application remain active can notify NPSC by email here.

General program information

• • One-way travel is permitted for all applications.
  • Primary flight departure date may be later than an alternate flight date.
  • Stopovers are not permitted. Where an application involves interconnecting flights to complete a one-way journey, these will be considered as one flight.

Flight schedules, terminal locations, and information for the program are available on the following DWAN website: SJS STRAT J4 TN. All flight times and dates may change based on operational pressures. Therefore, passengers should confirm flight schedules before arrival at the airport by communicating with the contact information provided on the 48 hours a preflight confirmation email.

For more information, NPSC is available to help and answer questions by phone at 1-800-823-3857 from Monday to Friday between 7:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. EST, or by email here.