Vancouver International Airport

[hkskyline]

Domestic Flights Check-in
http://files.photojerk.com/hkskyline/vancouver/DSCN2411.JPG

http://files.photojerk.com/hkskyline/vancouver/DSCN2412.JPG

Harmony Airways, which hired Jackie Chan for their advertisements.
http://files.photojerk.com/hkskyline/vancouver/DSCN2415.JPG

An old relic from Canadian Airlines, but it still survives well into 2003 at Gate 20.
http://files.photojerk.com/hkskyline/vancouver/DSCN2417.JPG

[Fabio]

interesting do you have more photos from the interior of the terminals?

[VanSeaPor]

Congrats to Vancouver, who's airport is in the world top ten. A nice airport for sure.

[en]

Anyone knows any detail about their future expansion, because I read that they are planning on expanding the international terminal due to 2010 Olympics.

[en]

YVR must seize Asian markets, airport boss says
Old paradigm of limited route rights must change if Canada is to stay competitive

Jenny Lee
Vancouver sun

Thursday, March 24, 2005

The number of passengers through Vancouver International Airport increased almost 10 per cent to 15.7 million in 2004, with the biggest growth coming from Asia-Pacific traffic.

"Our strategic plan sees YVR as a premier global gateway for passengers and cargo between the Americas and Asia -- seizing the advantage of YVR's strategic geographic location closer to Asia than other West Coast cities," said airport chief executive Larry Berg at a Vancouver Board of Trade lunch Wednesday.

He said the airport authority will attend talks next month between Canada and China aimed at easing flight restrictions between the two countries.

"Our objective will be to allow more carriers to serve the two countries with greater frequencies," Berg told reporters after his speech.

Current policy limits Canada-China flights to two carriers and 15 flights per country, per week. "Airlines like Harmony aren't flying into China because Air Canada consumes 14 of the 15 frequencies," Berg said.

Chinese carriers are similarly being turned away.

Berg said that 60 per cent of Canada's international aviation treaties don't allow foreign carrier access to Vancouver, and that the old paradigm of limited route rights and frequencies "must change if Canada is to remain competitive in a global economy."

"We need foreign carrier access to Vancouver, and we need to ensure that air agreements include so-called fifth freedom rights," he said. "Those fifth freedom rights are essential to make the gateway work. They are what allow a foreign carrier to fly beyond Vancouver to the U.S. market."

In January, China granted Canada "Approved Destination Status," facilitating travel by Chinese tourists to Canada.

"Tourism B.C. has predicted that we could see 300,000 tourists by 2010, compared to last year's 75,000 Chinese visitors. . . . But we need to liberalize the air agreement so that visitors from China are going to be able to get here," Berg said.

"It's up to us -- the Airport Authority, the Board of Trade, this community -- to make sure that the window of opportunity doesn't close on us."

Berg also called for a more liberal air agreement with the U.S., and spoke enthusiastically about NEXUS Air, a 17-month pilot project to speed the U.S.-Canada customs and immigration process for frequent travellers.

"Building a bigger and bigger customs hall is not the solution to border congestion. Using technology and doing it smarter is the solution," he said. Pre-approved travellers receive a card that will allow them to be processed in as little as 60 seconds, using iris recognition.

By 2044, Vancouver International Airport will have 500,000 takeoffs and landing per year, or one plane coming or going every minute. The airport authority projects 45 million passengers, or triple the current passenger volume. Air cargo will increase to 1.3 million tonnes, or five times today's figure.

More than 1,000 new direct jobs are created for every additional one million passengers.

To handle the anticipated growth, YVR has plans for $1.4 billion in improvements over the next decade, Berg said. These include the $420-million expansion of its international terminal currently underway, and a $300-million contribution to the Richmond-Airport-Vancouver rapid transit line.

The airport also has a 20-year master plan for that contemplates additional runways, terminal reconfigurations, and transportation options connecting Sea Island with Vancouver, Richmond and the rest of B.C.

The Arthur Laing Bridge is at capacity during rush hour and handles more traffic than the Oak Street bridge, he said. The Arthur Laing Bridge was originally built to serve the airport, but now two-thirds of of bridge traffic comes from commuters. As possible solutions, he suggested twining the Arthur Laing, Airport Connector and Dinsmore bridges, considering a new tunnel connection to Vancouver, exclusive-use lanes from the airport terminal and cargo areas to Highway 99 and policies encouraging rapid transit.

Berg called for YVR's rent to be reduced by 50 per cent, and he is hoping the issue will be resolved and changes implemented in 2006.

"The assets at YVR were valued at $170 million at transfer, and we're paying $80 million in rent annually. That's a pretty high rate of return on investment."

As half the rent is paid by the airlines, half of any reduction would be "handed back to the airlines and would hopefully [translate] into lower passenger fares," he said.

[liping_t]

YVR, one of my favourite airports! Gorgeous blue green interior :)

[Q-TIP]

Aerial Photos anyone? Airliners.net only has 2. :)

[hkskyline]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v81/asiaglobe/vancouver/RIMG0052.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v81/asiaglobe/vancouver/RIMG0039.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v81/asiaglobe/vancouver/RIMG0034.jpg

[Q-TIP]

^ :cheers:

Good sized airport, considering it has land around to expand. Not heard too much about this airport, although it ranks consistently among passengers as one of the best in north america.

[jer4893]

One of the nicest control towers in the world ive ever seen... Some are really ugly, like Heathrow.

[hkskyline]

International Departures

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v81/asiaglobe/vancouver/yvr-01.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v81/asiaglobe/vancouver/yvr-02.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v81/asiaglobe/vancouver/yvr-03.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v81/asiaglobe/vancouver/yvr-04.jpg

[en]

http://www.yvr.ca/authority/airmail/index.asp?id=183

Spring Issue 2005


YVR Says Goodbye to the Old Control Tower

A familiar feature of Vancouver International Airport’s 1960s era terminal is going to disappear. The old control tower, built in 1967, is being dismantled over the next few months as part of the airport’s comprehensive seismic upgrading program.



In mid-June, Pacific Blasting & Demolition Ltd., a Burnaby-based company, will begin to remove the cab, or top of the tower. Once the cab has been removed, a tower crane will be fitted into the tower and a steel deck and scaffolding will be temporarily erected. As the icon comes down, all of the reusable materials, such as the concrete and steel, will be recycled.



The majority of the work will be done at night to avoid disruptions to airport operations. The demolition will take place seven days a week and is scheduled to last until the end of September. Although preparatory work is already underway, visible changes won’t be evident until early next month.



Though not in use since 1996, when it was replaced by the new control tower, the old tower is one of the last remaining features of the terminal that opened in 1968. It was most recently the home of Phil Reimer, one of Vancouver’s most popular radio weathermen, who provided the Lower Mainland with weather updates live from YVR. Although Phil will no longer be broadcasting from the tower, he will continue to provide listeners with updates from a new location at YVR.

[mr.x]

AIRPORT FISH
The latest expansion at Vancouver International Airport to accommodate the new Airbus A380 will also accommodate marine life. Building on the YVR tradition of creating an airport with a distinctive west coast feel, a new wing for the International Terminal Building will feature a large aquarium showcasing regional sea life. A stream will run through the centre of the terminal and a jellyfish tank will be located in the rotunda.



Vancouver International Airport Authority has developed a 10-year, $1.4-billion capital program that will ensure YVR meets the growing demands for air travel, and continues developing the airport as a premier global gateway and economic generator for British Columbia. The program's projects are designed to accommodate the 23 million passengers projected at YVR by 2013, as well as handle the newer, larger aircraft of the future.

The major projects in the Airport Authority's capital program, listed below, are expected to generate 5,200 person-years of employment and $525-million in direct GDP.
$420 million International Terminal Expansion and Upgrades
$352 million Information Technology and Sustaining Capital
$300 million RAV Line (Airport Spur Portion)
$150 million Domestic Terminal Upgrades
$ 65 million Airfield Projects
$ 60 million Baggage System Upgrades
$ 55 million Roads & Parking

[jer4893]

^Wow! When any other information or pictures is availible on the YVR expansion, please post here. Also, where will the expansion be, how big etc..

[mr.x]

^ Should I also add in that the airport is planning to fill in the ocean to put in a fourth runway by 2025? The terminal expansions are 9 additional international gates and 12 additional domestic gates, by 2008. I don't know about domestic, but the international gates are being built on the very eastern section of the international terminal.


this photo is from when the first phase of the expansion was still being constructed, almost finish though. you see a tower to the east, that's a hotel, and the space there will be the new international gates.
http://www.globalairphotos.com/richmond/99photos/rhh9084.jpg
http://img85.exs.cx/img85/9394/yvr3kv.jpg



the airport currently has a capacity of 14 million/year and with expansions, YVR will have a capacity of 23 million/year by 2015.

and there's also the northlands development:
http://www.yvr.ca/pdf/authority/northlands/Northlands_conceptPlan_phase34.pdf
http://www.yvr.ca/pdf/authority/northlands/Northlands_conceptImage.pdf




Rated THE BEST AIRPORT IN NORTH AMERICA and depending on which study, is either in the top 3 or top 10 in the world list.





http://www.cisc-icca.ca/ssef/w-277.jpg
http://www.cisc-icca.ca/ssef/w-273.jpg
http://www.cisc-icca.ca/ssef/W-491-%7E1.jpg
http://www.cisc-icca.ca/ssef/yvr-fin1.jpg
http://www.cisc-icca.ca/ssef/yvr-fin4.jpg
http://www.cisc-icca.ca/ssef/yvr-fin3.jpg
http://www.cisc-icca.ca/ssef/yvr-fin8.jpg
http://www.cisc-icca.ca/ssef/yvr-fin2.jpg
http://www.cisc-icca.ca/ssef/yvr-fin7.jpg
http://www.cisc-icca.ca/ssef/yvr-fin9.jpg
http://www.cisc-icca.ca/ssef/yvr-fin6.jpg
http://www.cisc-icca.ca/ssef/yvr-fi11.jpg
http://www.cisc-icca.ca/ssef/yvr-fi10.jpg
http://www.cisc-icca.ca/ssef/yvr-fin5.jpg
http://peterchow.com/photos/Panoramic/Vancouver/vancouver-airport-park.jpg
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/transport/images/59B.jpg
http://www.apeg.bc.ca/branches/seatosky/images/yvr-tour3.JPG
http://www.d-w-d.com/r0800/images/projects/YVR-Pacific-Passage-200x157.jpg
http://www.cysys.net/images/new_images/project_pics/yvr.jpg
http://www.aldrichpears.com/images/pacificpass.jpg
http://img53.exs.cx/img53/3456/myphotos0089.jpg
http://superciliousness.com/640/200408bcyvrgate.jpg
http://www.iesna.org/LDA_7-98/LDA_7-98_Graphics/wow01.jpg
http://www.edwhitephotographics.com/images/portfolio/exterior/YVR.jpg

[Principes]

Not bad.

[Q-TIP]

A 4th runway? I thought they had 2 paralel runway system?

[mr.x]

A 4th runway? I thought they had 2 paralel runway system?

Airport officials say more capacity is needed. We currently have 3, we need a fourth in 20 years.

[naughtyins0mniac]

wow.. canadian airports look so cool.. i like em.

[Nick in Atlanta]

Should I also add in that the airport is planning to fill in the ocean to put in a fourth runway by 2025?

From the photo below, it looks like the third runway is not parallel with the other two parallel runways, but is rather a cross-wind runway. Would the potential fourth runway be parallel with the other two, allowing two landings and one take-off at a time or two take-offs and one landing at a time, or would it be parallel with the present cross-wind runway?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v81/asiaglobe/vancouver/RIMG0034.jpg

[mr.x]

^there is no space for another parallel runway. You may see space on that aerial photo but that space down in the bottom is actually the airport conservation area. what appears to be the south runway on that picture is actually the north runway and north of that runway is actually going to be massive airport high-tech, office, and air hanger development as seen below:
http://img28.exs.cx/img28/1889/yvr.jpg




the plan is to actually build a fourth runway that shoots into the ocean.

So on the left side of the island in this picture, the ocean on the top left or bottom left of the island could be filled to put in a fourth runway:
http://www.globalairphotos.com/images/bc/richmond/2004/rhh2004_104.jpg



I should also mention that they also have ideas to twin several bridges going to the airport and as well, they are suggesting to build a new tunnel to Vancouver:



Fourth runway?

By Eve Edmonds

In 1928, Charles Lindbergh refused to include Vancouver in his victory tour because it didn't have a decent airport.

Today, YVR is "rated by international travellers as one of the top 10 airports in the world - and number one in North America for passenger satisfaction," said Larry Berg, president and CEO of the Vancouver International Airport Authority.

And it's all thanks to vision - the courage to look into the future, said Berg at a two-day conference, which brought together community, industry and government leaders.

"I think Vancouver and federal government planners showed tremendous foresight in acquiring Sea Island (in the 1950s and '60s). They granted to you and me the flexibility, the opportunity to build a better airport."

The question at Forum 44, Flying 40 years into BC's Future was what are we going to grant our children and grandchildren? What visions have we for the next 40 years? And we had better think of something, because standing still is not an option, he added. The numbers alone are going to force change one way or another.

Currently, 15.5 million passengers fly in and out of YVR every year. By 2044, that number will be 45 million, almost three times higher.

Today there are 26,000 jobs on Sea Island. In 2044, the airport will employ upwards of 53,000 people.

Today 215,800 tonnes of cargo come and go from YVR. In 2044, that will be 1,300,000 tonnes.

As it stands, the airport can't handle those increases, said Berg, who talked about four aspects of the airport that need to be addressed: the terminal, building a fourth runway, developing ground transportation and changing its location.

While the issue of ground transportation was deemed a priority among the audience, in fact it was the question of runways that sparked immediate controversy.

"It took us 19-20 years to agree on a third runway," said Richmond MLA Greg Halsey-Brandt. "If we are going to need a fourth runway by 2025, I would get started on that."

Berg laid out three proposals for a fourth runway: one south of the south runway, but there is only space for an arrival runway, not a parallel runway.

There is more space north of the north runway, but that land is a conservation area. A third possibility is a runway west of the island that runs out into the ocean, but then foreshore habitat could be detrimentally affected.

Maybe Sea Island is simply not big enough to maintain a fourth runway, suggested Berg. "Do we need a brand new airport like Hong Kong or Denver?" he asked his audience.

Berg stressed that all his suggestions are simply "conversation starters," although one audience member who had been involved in the highly contentious debate on building a third runway said that some of these proposals were unnecessarily provocative.

On the issue of ground transportation, Berg notes that the Arthur Laing Bridge, which was originally intended as an airport-only bridge, is already operating at capacity during rush hour.

Growing congestion could be offset by "building more roads and bridges, twinning the Arthur Laing, Airport Connector and Dinsmore Bridges: perhaps looking at a new tunnel connection to Vancouver, adding more road capacity on the Island," said Berg.

"But are we just pushing the bottleneck into Vancouver or Richmond?" he asked.

Critical to an efficient ground transportation situation is developing public transit.

"You can see why the Airport Authority has been a vocal supporter of RAV and works closely with TransLink to promote transit options to the airport."

The Vancouver Airport Authority has a long way to go before it formalizes any of these plans, but the conference was a chance to garner new ideas and creative solutions, Berg said.

It knows that a future vision doesn't have a hope of taking off without input and support from the community, he added.

[Nick in Atlanta]

Berg laid out three proposals for a fourth runway: one south of the south runway, but there is only space for an arrival runway, not a parallel runway.

There is more space north of the north runway, but that land is a conservation area. A third possibility is a runway west of the island that runs out into the ocean, but then foreshore habitat could be detrimentally affected.

I would assume that this third option of a runway that runs out into the ocean, would be a runway that is parallel with the cross-wind runway. I can't imagine that Berg's talking about building a third parallel runway that is so far west, so as to avoid landing on top of the terminal building, that it would almost completely stick straight out into the water on reclaimed land. That would be a truly revolutionary concept. Why not? :)

[mr.x]

The airport is also getting third rail rapid transit. Called the Richmond-Airport-Vancouver Line, this 19.5-km rapid transit line is 2/3rds tunnel and 1/3rd elevated. It'll cost $1.73 billion, with 19 stations and it will take 25 minutes to ride it. It'll be completed by November 2009 with construction beginning in August 2005. 100,000 people will commute on it daily starting in 2009. Most of the tunnel will be stacked and built by cut and cover.


The airport station is elevated, ignore the at-grade rendering below:
http://img62.exs.cx/img62/6700/rav.jpg

Another station rendering for YVR Terminus:
http://img230.echo.cx/img230/2584/rav17qb.jpg


The official plan, note that 2nd Avenue is not a future station but will also be built by '09:
[img]http://ravprapidtransit.com/en/pics/map.jpg



and here's the new RAV line bridge from Vancouver to Richmond:
http://img230.echo.cx/img230/9752/rav0qd.jpg

[mr.x]

I would assume that this third option of a runway that runs out into the ocean, would be a runway that is parallel with the cross-wind runway. I can't imagine that Berg's talking about building a third parallel runway that is so far west, so as to avoid landing on top of the terminal building, that it would almost completely stick straight out into the water on reclaimed land. That would be a truly revolutionary concept. Why not? :)


hey, Hong Kong tore a mountain island apart for their airport!:righton:

[mr.x]

http://skyscraperpage.com/gallery/data/529/2507fairmont_airport_ext.jpg

[mr.x]

http://img299.echo.cx/img299/7089/yvr3xv.jpg

http://www.yvr.ca/pdf/authority/YVR_Community2005.pdf


i'm lost in words....it's undescribeable.

[en]

Wow, now this is the info that I have been trying to find ever since I found out that they were expanding!

[hkskyline]

Traveller unaware he caused security scare
JANE ARMSTRONG AND COLIN FREEZE
27 June 2005
The Globe and Mail

VANCOUVER AND TORONTO -- It was either bad directions or one massive misunderstanding. Whatever the case, a male traveller managed to board a Toronto-bound Air Canada jet in Vancouver without passing through security yesterday.

The breach was not detected fast enough to stop the traveller, who boarded the plane just minutes before the airport's departure lounges were evacuated and domestic flights were cancelled for the rest of the morning, RCMP said.

The breach prompted a massive security sweep of domestic departures lounges and caused long delays for the rest of the day.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to police and security, the unwitting culprit — who was captured on a poorly shot ceiling videotape at Vancouver airport — had already boarded his flight. As his plane flew to Toronto, the man had no idea of the furor he had caused back in Vancouver. When he stepped off his flight at 5:30 p.m., he quickly learned he was being hunted by police.

“It was a misunderstanding by a passenger,” Richmond RCMP Staff Sergeant Al Ramey said.

“The misunderstanding was not deliberate.”

Staff Sgt. Ramey said it appeared the man was given improper directions or else he failed to understand instructions from an employee of the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, the federal agency that oversees airport security in Canada.

“A man was seen bypassing security,” Staff Sgt. Ramey said.

By the time security realized the man had not been screened, “he was lost in the crowd.”

Staff Sgt. Ramey said he did not know precisely what was said to the traveller to steer him wrong.

However, a spokeswoman for CATSA said an employee pointed the passenger to a screening area, but he went in another direction.

Yesterday, a Transport Canada spokeswoman said the department is investigating the incident.

As the Air Canada flight approached Toronto, police in Peel Region examined the videotape to find the man.

“We got him, everything is all right and he has an explanation,” said Sergeant Andy Keizerwaard of the Peel Regional Police, the force that is responsible for Toronto's Pearson International Airport.

“I'm sure he was surprised.”

Even though airport security has become increasingly sophisticated since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States, police in Peel say they had no name to work with, only a poor video image.

Sgt. Keizerwaard said the image was shot by a Vancouver airport ceiling camera from a distance of about 10 metres, with the frame containing about 18 people — making it very difficult to tell just who was the problematic passenger. Going by appearances, he said, the man they wanted to question could have been 20 to 50 years old.

Plus, he said, “We're lucky we got him because they had it narrowed down to only one of four flights. They determined he was either on the flight to Toronto, the flight to Victoria, and I can't remember the other two places.

“So we just took our chances on this end. They gave us a description and waited for that guy to, hopefully, walk off, and if he didn't we would have presumed he got off one of the other flights.”

“He's looks balding, that's all I can say from here,” added Sgt. Keizerwaard, who remained in the Pearson airport office as other officers attended the scene. “It turned out there was one guy that looked like him and everything jibed — but it [the photo] wasn't much to work with.”

Jacqueline Bannister, a CATSA spokeswoman, said the passenger misunderstood directions.

“The passenger was directed towards a specific area of the pre-board screening. He misunderstood the exact area that he was asked to go and went farther than what he should have gone. And [he] basically understood that he could just go through — which was not the case.”

Regardless, she added: “We certainly will be reviewing this to ensure that this does not occur again at this particular airport nor at any other airport across the country.”

The federal government created the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority in 2002 to oversee air security in Canada after the 2001 terrorist attacks and authorized it to spend $1.9-billion on security measures over five years.

Yesterday, while the man was en route to Toronto, thousands of travellers at Vancouver airport faced long lines. Every passenger who had earlier passed through security was re-screened. By early afternoon, long lines snaked outside onto the sidewalk.

Flights resumed shortly after noon, but there were delays for the rest of the day.

With a report from Steven Chase in Ottawa

[EdZed]

what a joke evacutating the whole terminal come so person didn't go through security. This paranoia is getting out of hand now.

[hkskyline]

New airport radar will help avoid repeat of Concorde crash

VANCOUVER, Aug 15, 2005 (AFP) - Vancouver airport will next year become the first in the world to operate a new radar system that can detect the smallest piece of debris on a runway with pinpoint accuracy, officials said.

Vancouver International Airport, on Canada's west coast, has bought four Tarsier radar units developed by British company QinetiQ following the Concorde crash at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport in July, 2000 which killed 113 people.

The disaster was blamed on a piece of metal that fell of another passenger jet, punctured a tyre and caused secondary damage.

The Tarsier, based on high-resolution millimeter wave radar, is able to detect material the size of a five centimetre (two inch) bolt to within three metres (10 feet), at a range of up to two kilometres (1.5 miles).

It can also tell if the item is made of metal, plastic, glass, wood or animal remains, said Craig Richmond, Vancouver International Airport Authority's vice-president of operations.

Once computer software identifies the item, a global positioning system is used to direct airport staff to its location to clean up the debris, he said.

Currently, checking for debris is done manually -- staff walk up and down runways with a broom and a dustpan. Prone to human error, the method is also time consuming and expensive if it delays incoming or outgoing flights, Richmond said.

Vancouver International airport hosted the first full trial of the Tarsier system in 2004. It has since been tested at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, London's Heathrow airport and at a US Air Force base in Texas.

Richmond said that during tests, the Tarsier detected flocks of birds and a plastic water bottle at night that was more than one kilometre (0.6 mile) away.

The system costs about 1.2 million US dollars but Steve Brittan, managing director of QinetiQ Airport Radar, believes it will become invaluable as the cost from debris damage and resulting delays around the world is about 4.0 billion US dollars a year.

"And, the safety of life argument is the most compelling (reason) of all," he added.

The radar system is part of a 1.2 billion US dollar expansion of Vancouver airport, which expects up to 100,000 people per day during the 2010 Winter Olympics and plans to upgrade facilities to accommodate the Airbus 380, the world's largest jumbo, by 2009.

In 2005, the airport expects 16.4 million travelers, rising to 21.1 million in 2010.

[zonie]

This supposedly happened quite a bit earlier today, and I would have thought it would be reported on some news channel by now if true, so take this tidbit I just got straight from an airline employee with a grain of salt or two:

A China Eastern plane collided on landing with an Air Canada plane. Passengers were frightened but uninjured. The engine needs to be replaced. This isn't supposed to be the same story as the one involving a China Eastern emergency landing a month earlier.

[EDIT] This was either an incredibly minor, non-newsworthy incident, or didn't actually happen.