Air Canada announced Anko Van der Werff as its next president and chief executive officer, and a member of the Board, who will assume that position at the end of January 2027.

Van der Werff succeeds Michael Rousseau, who previously announced his retirement in March of this year after 19 years with the company, following an accident involving one of the airline’s planes at LaGuardia Airport in New York, and the controversy he caused by announcing his condolences only in English.

Vagn Sørensen, chairman of the firm’s board, mentioned that this change will drive growth and transformation to generate more value, while maintaining its commitment to a disciplined allocation of capital.

“Our Board of Directors was impressed by the quality of experienced executives from around the world who expressed interest in the position. We are delighted to have attracted and recruited an executive of Van der Werff’s caliber to lead Air Canada. He possesses exceptional international aviation experience and a proven track record of 25 years, including his most recent and visionary executive leadership at Scandinavian Airlines, Avianca Group, and Aeroméxico, and previously at KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (now Air France-KLM) and Qatar Airways,” he explained.

Anko Van der Werff has over 25 years of leadership experience in international airlines, having held senior positions in Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. Prior to joining Air Canada, he was President and CEO of SAS Scandinavian Airlines, leading the airline through a significant period of transformation and strategic renewal.

He also served as CEO of Avianca, one of Latin America’s leading airlines. Early in his career, he was Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at Aeroméxico , held senior commercial management positions at Qatar Airways , and occupied various executive roles at KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.

He also served on the Board of Governors of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) until June 2026 and has served on the boards of directors of several international organizations in the aviation, technology, and business sectors. He holds a Master of Laws degree from Leiden University and completed executive studies at Harvard Business School.

“Air Canada is a leading airline recognized globally. It is an honor to be chosen to lead this iconic Canadian company as it drives its ambitions and strategy, builds on its award-winning employee culture and customer value proposition, and prepares for an even brighter future,” said Anko Van der Werff.

Sørensen, for his part, thanked Michael Rousseau for “his exceptional leadership and extraordinary contributions, which are largely responsible for Air Canada’s enviable position among global airlines. We are grateful for that legacy and his support during the transition.”

Rousseau’s retirement will be effective from August 31, 2026. He will remain available as needed throughout the transition. Following his departure and during the transition period, the Executive Committee will keep the Board of Directors informed.

The airline stated that Van der Werff’s selection follows an extensive global search for the best person to lead Air Canada into the future and considered several performance criteria, including the ability to communicate in French. A native of the Netherlands, he speaks Dutch, as well as English, Spanish, Italian, and Swedish at varying levels.

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El cargo Air Canada appoints Anko Van der Werff as its president and chief executive officer apareció primero en T21.

June 25, the date set by the administration of Donald Trump , President of the United States, to strictly implement the measure, marked the beginning of a stricter phase.

“In the last week, we’ve already started to see outages, something we hadn’t seen before,” confirmed Israel Delgado, vice president of the Northwest Region of the  National Chamber of Cargo Transportation (Canacar) in an interview .

Since the provision was announced, the industry knew it needed to act urgently. In Delgado’s words, companies were forced “to urgently seek different means to begin operator training .”

The reason is simple: without support, many could be left “out-of- service.”

And that scenario is already underway. Inspections in Texas , and to a lesser extent in California, have begun to include observations stating that the driver is “unable to communicate in English,” Delgado explained.

While these warnings do not yet carry an immediate penalty , they do anticipate that, in a second review, the operator may be removed from service if they do not demonstrate progress or ongoing training.

“The warning doesn’t have an immediate consequence, but rather warns us that a second inspection could result in the vehicle being taken out of service,” said Delgado, who also noted that they have already detected specific cases of sanctions.

To date, there is no official count of how many operators have been reviewed or sanctioned. However, Delgado confirmed that contacts have been made with U.S. government agencies to compile this data. “We do not currently have this information,” he stated.

What is clear is the challenge. According to estimates, around 80% of operators still lack sufficient English to handle these inspections. Therefore, the call to action is not only for drivers, but for the entire industry.

“If companies don’t help operators comply with this rule, what we’re going to see is a lot of outages,” he warned.

Some are already responding, from in-person and virtual training to the use of technological tools to accelerate learning, including Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based approaches.

Furthermore, he anticipated that not only could more cases of suspension be seen, but also possible financial penalties.

“Starting today, we anticipate we’ll begin to see an increase in these types of rules or sanctions, out-of-service, and possibly financial penalties,” he explained.

Language is no longer an added value, but rather part of the minimum qualifications. Speaking English is now the entry pass for operating on the other side of the Mexican border.

The numbers don’t lie. The change is significant. In the state of Wyomingalone , between October 2023 and September 2024, 410 violations related to drivers’ lack of English proficiency were documented, according to US government data . Although not all of those cases involved B1 drivers.

Meanwhile, across the border, the exchange of goods continues unabated. From January to April 2025, trade in goods between Mexico and the United States exceeded $285 billion , according to figures from the government of Mexico . More than a number, this daily flow represents thousands of operators crossing, delivering, returning, and keeping two economies that depend on each other moving.

But while the United States tightens entry restrictions, Mexico is experiencing its own paradox. According to the International Road Transport Union (IRU) , the country closed 2024 with more than 99,000 operator vacancies . Given this situation, some see these restrictions as an opportunity: if operators who fail to cross return to domestic routes, they could begin to close a gap that has remained unresolved for years.

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El cargo From warning to reality, B1 operators are already being taken out of service in the US apareció primero en T21.