Vancouver International Airport is an international airport located on Sea Island in Richmond, British Columbia, serving the city of Vancouver and the Lower Mainland region. It is located from Downtown Vancouver. The airport is managed by Vancouver Airport Authority, a nonprofit organization, and covers a total expanse of about of airport property.
Vancouver is the second busiest airport in Canada by passenger traffic (26.2 million), with the site serving as Canada's main transpacific airport. Vancouver International Airport is a hub for Air Canada, WestJet, and Pacific Coastal Airlines, and is one of nine Canadian airports that have US border pre-clearance facilities. It is also one of the few major international airports to have a terminal, the Vancouver International Water Airport, for scheduled floatplanes.
The airport has won several notable international best airport awards. It won the Skytrax Best North American Airport award in 2007 and 2010 through 2022, for a record of 12 consecutive years, then again in 2024 and 2026. Vancouver also retains the distinction of Best Canadian Airport in the regional results.
History
In 1929, the City of Vancouver purchased land located on Sea Island to be used for aviation purposes, replacing the original grass airstrip at Minoru Park on Lulu Island. During World War II, the airport and its original terminal, now the South Terminal, were leased to the federal government and operated by the Department of National Defence and the Department of Transport as RCAF Station Sea Island. The airport was used for the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. The crews and their families were housed in a new townsite on the island, named Burkeville, after Boeing president Stanley Burke. Funds from the lease were used to purchase additional land for new hangars and a production plant for Boeing Aircraft of Canada (now Boeing Canada).
The present main terminal was completed in 1968 and has since been expanded to include separate domestic and international terminals. A north runway was completed in 1996.
A United States border pre-clearance facility was created in the 1970s and, as of 2024, has the longest operating hours of any US pre-clearance facility, operating from 4:30 am to midnight the next day.
In 2011, the airport announced that it would enact a program aiming to encourage airlines to start more flights between Vancouver and Asia.
The airport has often been described as a major trans-Pacific hub due to its location in the Pacific Northwest and destinations in the Americas, Asia, and Australia, which help facilitate connecting flights. In 2019, Craig Richmond, then president and CEO of the Vancouver Airport Authority, said that the recent growth of Seattle–Tacoma International Airport in the United States could challenge Vancouver's status as a trans-Pacific hub, although Seattle/Tacoma is already the larger airport.
Sea Island, where the airport is situated, is at sea level and has a system of dikes to protect the airport. The island has been identified as a location vulnerable to future storm surges and extreme weather events caused by climate change, requiring new pump stations and a raised dike.
Terminals Vancouver International Airport has two terminals: the Main Terminal and the South Terminal. The main terminal contains domestic and international concourses. Free internet access is available in all sections of the airport. Throughout the airport, there is trilingual English, French, and Chinese signage, set in the typeface Helvetica. The South Terminal, along with the adjacent floatplane docks, is referred to by airport management as "Airport South".
Domestic concourse
The Domestic section of the terminal was constructed in 1968 by the Vancouver-based firm Thompson, Berwick and Pratt and was given a top-to-bottom renovation in 2005 by Vancouver architect Kasian Kennedy. The Domestic area consists of three piers (A–C).
Pier A Pier A consists of six gates: A6 through A10 and A12. These gates are ground loading ramps used by WestJet Encore.
Pier B Pier B consists of 15 gates: gates B13 through B27. Gates B14 to B17 can receive international and US arrivals. Gates B23 to B25 are ground loading ramps. Pier B is the hub for domestic flights for WestJet, and additionally serves domestic flights by Air North, Air Transat, Flair Airlines, and Porter Airlines.
Pier C Pier C consists of 24 gates: C29 through C52. This is the hub for Air Canada and Air Canada Express domestic flights. Gates C48 to C52 are swing gates, which can be used for international departures (designated as D48 to D52) as well as international and US arrivals.
International & US concourse
The International concourse was designed by Vancouver-based Architectura, now Stantec, with Kansas City–based HNTB Corporation (1994–1996). It was expanded to the west between 2017 and 2021 to allow for more gates and more remote stand operations. YVR is one of eight Canadian airports with United States border preclearance facilities, which are situated in this section of the terminal. All international concourse gates can accept flights arriving from international and US origins; passengers are directed onto overhead walkways which lead to the Canada Border Services Agency screening area.
Pier D (International Pier)
Pier D consists of 31 gates: D48 to D78, of which 7 (D56, D57, D59, D60, D61, D63, and D65) are bus gates for remote stands. All international-bound flights, excluding those to the United States, depart from D gates. All gates can handle wide-body aircraft; 11 gates are fitted with 2 jet bridges, and four of these gates can handle the Airbus A380, a service of which was seasonally operated to Vancouver by British Airways until September 26, 2022. Gates D48 to D52 are swing gates which can be used for domestic departures (designated C48 to C52), and gates D71 through D78 are swing gates which can be used for United States border preclearance flights (designated E71 through E78).
A SkyTeam airport lounge operated by Global Lounge Network is located near gate D53, and the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge is at Gate D52.
Pier E (US Pier) Preclearance was added to the airport in the 1970s.
Pier E is the US border preclearance area and consists of 25 gates: E71 to E88 and E90 to E96. Gates E71 to E78 are swing gates which can be switched to international departures (as gates D71 to D78) as needed. Gate E84 is a bus gate for remote stands. Gates E90 through E96 are located in a smaller satellite building connected via a ground-level walkway. Gate E95 accesses ground-loading stands 95A and 95B.
Airport South The Airport South complex includes the South Terminal, the floatplane facility, and other adjacent operations.
South Terminal The South Terminal, a portion of the original pre-1968 terminal which is still in use, also houses the corporate headquarters and main base of Pacific Coastal Airlines and Harbour Air.
The South Terminal serves regional airlines which fly mostly within British Columbia, such as Pacific Coastal Airlines and Central Mountain Air, in addition to chartered flights. A nearby building serves as the YVR terminal for Helijet.
Floatplane facility The Vancouver International Water Airport is located on Inglis Drive, a short distance from the South Terminal. This facility allows floatplanes to land and dock on the South Arm of the Fraser River. The facility is served by all floatplane operators other than Harbour Air, which maintains a separate dock and terminal at the Flying Beaver Bar and Grill nearby.
Airlines and destinations Passenger
Map of North American passenger destinations
Map of Asian passenger destinations
Map of European passenger destinations
Map of Oceania passenger destinations
Hub airlines Airlines that have a hub in YVR are Air Canada, Westjet, and Flair Airlines. Some smaller airlines that also use YVR as a hub are Pacific Coastal Airlines and Harbour Air. Porter and Air North use YVR as a focus city.
Cargo
Statistics Vancouver International saw a steady increase in passenger volumes from 2010 to 2019. Between 2020 and 2021, patronage dropped significantly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The airport has seen a steady recovery of passengers, however; the patronage in 2022 was about 72% of the patronage in 2019.
Annual traffic
+ Annual passenger traffic (enplaned + deplaned) at YVR, 1992–2012 Year Passengers % change 1992 9,935,285 1993 10,235,015 3.2% 1994 10,830,796 5.8% 1995 12,006,973 10.8% 1996 14,037,174 16.9% 1997 14,818,564 5.5% 1998 15,508,109 4.6% 1999 15,806,499 1.9% 2000 16,032,531 1.4% 2001 15,476,762 –3.4% 2002 14,877,536 –3.8% 2003 14,321,504 –3.7% 2004 15,725,694 9.8% 2005 16,418,883 4.4% 2006 16,922,226 3.0% 2007 17,495,049 3.3% 2008 17,852,459 2.0% 2009 16,179,312 –9.3% 2010 16,778,774 3.7% 2011 17,032,780 1.5% 2012 17,596,901 3.3%
+ Annual passenger traffic (enplaned + deplaned) at YVR, 2013–present Year Passengers % change 2013 17,971,883 2.1% 2014 19,358,203 7.7% 2015 20,315,978 4.9% 2016 22,288,552 9.7% 2017 24,166,122 8.4% 2018 25,936,907 7.3% 2019 26,379,870 1.7% 2020 7,300,287 –72.3% 2021 7,086,602 –3.0% 2022 19,013,129 168.3% 2023 24,937,282 31.2% 2024 26,205,801 5.1% 2025 26,913,561 2.7%
Ground transportation Rapid transit (SkyTrain)
The airport has a station on the SkyTrain network called YVR–Airport, the terminus of the Sea Island branch of the Canada Line. The airport authority contributed $300 million towards construction as part of the Canada Line's funding. A pedestrian footbridge (cost: $117 million, completed in 2007) links the international terminal with the domestic terminal and serves as the arrival and departure area for users of the Canada Line. The Canada Line itself opened on August 17, 2009, as the third line of Vancouver's rapid transit network. It was the only airport rail link service of any kind in Canada until the opening of Toronto's Union Pearson Express in 2015.
Bus When Canada Line service is suspended, such as overnight or other service disruptions, the N10 night bus operated by Coast Mountain Bus Companythe bus operator for the region's transit authority, TransLinkconnects the airport's international and domestic terminals to Richmond and downtown Vancouver. The airport's south terminal is served by the 412 bus, which connects to the Canada Line at Bridgeport station. Between 2001 and the Canada Line's opening in 2009, regular bus service was provided by TransLink route 424.
Whistler and Squamish YVR Skylynx buses run directly from YVR Vancouver Airport and Vancouver City Centre to Squamish, Creekside Village, and Whistler.
Expansion
In 2005, in preparation for the 2010 Winter Olympics, YVR approved a $1.4-billion multi-year capital development plan, which included a four-gate expansion to the International Terminal, completed in June 2007. Two of the four new gates are conventional wide-bodied gates and two can accommodate the Airbus A380. The international terminal addition includes interior design elements intended to represent British Columbia, including a stream in a pathway and fish and jellyfish tanks.
A five-gate expansion was completed in 2009 for Domestic Terminal's Pier C. Food and retail expansions were also completed for Pier C at this time.
In 2017, Vancouver International Airport Authority developed a 2017–2037 master plan, named Flight Plan 2037, which included 75 projects at a projected cost of $5.6billion. The plan allowed for the airport to serve 35 million passengers by 2037. The plan called for the expansion of facilities around the existing large terminal. New piers and gates were to be added, as well as a second parking garage and taxiways. It was also planned to improve vehicle access. Eight gates were added to the international terminal in the first phase which was completed in February 2021. Final approval of the plan by the Ministry of Transport was needed.
Distinctives Architecture