Vancouver International Airport promises changes after holiday travel chaos

There are promises changes are coming at Vancouver International Airport (YVR) after the travel nightmare at the airport through the holidays.

The snowy winter storm that threw the airport into chaos through the height of the holiday travel season stranded a lot of passengers — many spent hours on the runway with the lost and unclaimed luggage still piled up just last week.

At the time, the head of the Vancouver Airport Authority empathized with travellers left stranded.

“Certainly, the length of time that some people were required to be on aircraft earlier this week is unacceptable,” said President and CEO Tamara Vrooman during a December 22 news conference. “We are now focusing on making sure we never have people held on aircraft again, we have made the changes.”

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And it seems more significant changes are coming.

“We have seen that the systems and processes our airport community has relied on for decades must be improved given the realities our industry has experienced post-pandemic along with increasing climate-related weather events,” said Vrooman in a statement released late Wednesday.

“YVR is undertaking an enhanced after-action review that will bring together input from airlines, partners, suppliers, and employees. We have engaged KPMG and global aviation planning and advisory firm, Arup, to assist in this review,” she added.

“YVR will also be engaging the travelling public to hear directly about their experiences and suggestions for improvement relating to information and support during the December travel disruption. Both processes will commence next week.”

Vrooman also indicated some initial measures had already been put in place to ensure December’s travel troubles would not be repeated while the review is underway.

“These measures include greater communication and coordination with airlines around gating, towing, and communication with passengers,” she said.

“We recognize that this past holiday season was very hard on travellers, their friends, and families. Many people were looking forward to travelling again, particularly since this was the first December in three years where most travel restrictions were lifted.”

Federally, an emergency meeting today is looking at air travel delays and cancellations across the country in December, which saw thousands of people stranded. The House of Commons standing committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities is looking at air passenger protection regulations.

Air Canada, Sunwing Airlines, WestJet Airlines, and Transportation Minister Omar Alghabra will all be appearing.