YVR limits international arrivals, snowstorm cleanup continues

Vancouver International Airport is limiting international arrivals until Friday morning as it continues to deal with major backlogs and delays caused by Tuesday’s snowstorm.

YVR says the winter storm that hit caused widespread flight delays and cancellations, and as a result, a “significant number” of planes remain at the airport, leading to a congested airfield.

“Our focus is to depart aircraft from the airport and get crews and passengers safely on their way. Therefore, we will be temporarily limiting arriving international flights for approximately 48 hours, effective Wednesday, December 21 at 7:00 a.m. through Friday, December 23 at 5:00 a.m.,” the airport said.

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The airport believes about 30 international flights will be affected, including all flights from All Nippon Airways, Air China, Air France, Air India, Air New Zealand, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, China Airlines, Eurowings, Eva Air, Hainan, Japan Airlines, Korean Air, Philippine Airlines, Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Turkish Airlines.

“We fully recognize the impact this will have on individuals and families over the holiday season. However, the congestion caused by Tuesday’s storm events make this action necessary.”

My heart goes to this dude at #YVR airport, at 10pm, plowing snow with a cone, feeling helpless. #Snowmageddon #vancouversnow #vancouver pic.twitter.com/fMsT0UYn7U

— Esiriel (@esiriel_) December 20, 2022

The announcement comes after chaotic scenes at YVR on Tuesday — some passengers were waiting on the tarmac at the airport for over six hours, while others were waiting inside the terminal receiving limited information about their travel plans.

One passenger says the first leg of her trip took an added six hours — but not in the air.

“I was on Flair [Air] flying from Montreal, so it was a six-hour plane ride…When they got here, the plane couldn’t get up to the gate because of a lack of de-icing or something…so we sat on the tarmac for another six hours,” Jane told CityNews.

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One woman traveled from Victoria, arrived at YVR, and is trying to get to Houston on a connecting flight to Brazil. She says she’s been up since 6 a.m. on Tuesday and has been sleeping on the floor of the airport.

“I just want to cry honestly. That’s not what I imagined it would be when I booked my flights, I was really excited to go, and now it was just a nightmare,” she told CityNews. “I don’t even know if I’m going to be able to get out of this airport even to go to my other flight today because everything’s just getting delayed and delayed and cancelled.”

One man flew into YVR from the Philippines. He’s barely slept and is trying to get home to Calgary for the holidays.

“What will I do?” he asked, adding he hasn’t received any food, drink, or vouchers from the airline he’s flying with but isn’t sure if filing a claim is worth it because of the long processing times.

–With files from Martin MacMahon and Sonia Aslam