Vancouver airport getting back on track, operations ‘steadying’

Things appear to be returning back to normal at Vancouver International Airport (YVR), with the facility sending out almost all scheduled flights Monday.

The airport tweeted an operational update on Boxing Day, saying 65,000 travellers are expected, with a total of 572 flights slated to take off.

YVR UPDATE (11:46 AM) We are expecting 65,000 passengers at YVR today with a total of 572 planned flights. YVR is operating at 97% of originally scheduled flights. With improving weather conditions and operations steadying, this is our last operations update at this time.

— YVR (@yvrairport) December 26, 2022

The update is YVR’s final one after consecutive snow storms caused mass cancellations last week during the busy holiday travel season. The airport upped its communications as thousands of travellers were left stranded after cancelled flights.

“Thank you to our entire airport community, including Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA), the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA), and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) for their continued support and commitment as we work to get travellers on their way,” a tweet from YVR said.

The facility says the “major snow event response” is now over as weather conditions have improved. However, “enhanced passenger support teams” are still in place for the “foreseeable future” as the airport looks to reschedule people’s cancelled flights.

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At the height of the snow-induced chaos last week, people were left stranded in the airport for over 24 hours in some cases. In response, YVR offered up hotel rooms for families with young children and for senior citizens awaiting a rescheduled flight.

There were also designated “quiet zones” where cots and pillows were set up in the terminal for people to get some rest, the airport said on Saturday.

In a previous media availability, YVR CEO Tamara Vrooman said snow removal and de-icing efforts went “as planned” during the week, but there were still lessons to be learned.

“I think the learning for us certainly is we had passengers remain on aircraft for several hours. That is unacceptable,” Vrooman said Saturday.