Airport Guide

History of Vancouver International Airport

Though now one of the busiest airports in North America, Vancouver was a relatively late developer - indeed, aviation pioneer Charles Lindbergh famously refused to include the city on his 1927 tour across the continent.

This rebuttal, however, spurred the local authorities on to purchase land on Sea Island for the construction of a new airport, which was capable of handling both domestic and international flights by the start of World War Two.

Since then, Vancouver Airport has benefitted from significant redevelopment, most notably through the drives to expand the terminals in the late 1960s and the 1990s, with much of the work incorporating architectural designs aimed at letting in large amounts of light and reflecting the colours of the surrounding countryside.

Further expansion is currently being carried out, with the aim of accommodating larger passenger jets and allowing the airport to increase its current operational capacity of just over 17 million passengers a year.

Travelling to Vancouver International Airport

At present, the only means of travelling to Vancouver Airport for those passengers without their own car or a hire car is by bus.
With services running 24 hours a day, the 98, N10 and C92 buses offer swift connections from the terminals to downtown Vancouver, as well as to nearby Richmond.

However, work on a new rapid train line between the airport and the city centre is also currently being carried out.

The rapid-transit line, which again will also serve Richmond, is set to be ready in time for the 2010 Winter Olympics and will make Vancouver the only airport in Canada to benefit from a direct rail link.

Airlines flying from Vancouver International Airport

The second-busiest airport in Canada, Vancouver International handles hundreds of domestic and long-haul flights a day and serves as a hub for both Air Canada and Air Transat.

Given the size of the country, flying is one of the best means of travelling around Canada and as such a wealth of domestic flights are on offer from Vancouver.

Domestic destinations served from the airport by the national carrier, Air Canada include Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Toronto-Pearson, Saskatoon, Victoria and Winnipeg.

In addition, cheap flights are also operated by SkyService, Air Canada Jazz and WestJet, all of which fly to all regions in Canada.

At the same time, Air Canada also offers international flights all across the globe, including to Beijing, Cancun, Frankfurt, London, Paris, Sydney and Tokyo, while Air Transat flies to Amsterdam, Barcelona, Munich and Rome, as well as to a number of Mexican sun-spots.

Other international carriers offering flights out of Vancouver include British Airways, China Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Luftthansa, Mexicana and Philippine Airlines.