YVR - Vancouver International Airport - Archive

Vancouver International Airport is located on Sea Island in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, about 12 km (7.5 mi) from Downtown Vancouver. In 2009 it was the second busiest airport in Canada by aircraft movements (337,802) and passengers (16.1 million), behind Toronto Pearson International Airport, with non-stop flights daily to Asia, Europe, Oceania, the United States, Mexico, the Caribbean, and other airports within Canada. The airport has won several notable international best airport awards, and it won the Skytrax Best North American Airport award in 2007. YVR also retains the distinction of Best Canadian Airport in the regional results. It is a hub for Air Canada, Air Canada Jazz and Air Transat as well as a focus city for WestJet.

Vancouver International Airport is one of eight Canadian Airports that have U.S. border preclearance facilities.

Vancouver International Airport is owned by Transport Canada and is managed by Vancouver International Airport Authority, which also manages other airports around the world through its Vancouver Airport Services subsidiary.

In 1927, Charles Lindbergh refused to include Vancouver in his North American tour because of the lack of a proper airport. Two years later, the city purchased land on Sea Island for aviation purposes, replacing the original grass airstrip at Minoru Park. During World War II the airports and its original terminal, now the South Terminal, would be leased to the Federal government, and operated by the department of National Defence and Transport. The airport was a base for Royal Canadian Air Force training, the crews and their families housed in a new townsite on the island, named Burkeville after Boeing president Stanley Burke. Funds from the lease was used to purchase additional land for new hangars and a production plant for Boeing Aircraft of 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.

Due to its proximity to Asia in relation to the rest of Canada, YVR is a gateway between Canada and Asia. It has more transpacific flights than any other airport in Canada. The sizable number of Asian Canadians living in Vancouver contributes to the large number of flights as well.

By the 2010 Winter Olympics, Vancouver is expected to top 22 million passengers annually, ranking YVR in the Top 45 airports in the world by passenger traffic.