Vancouver International Airport welcomed more than 7.1 million passengers from July through September, a 21.7 percent increase over the same period last year and on par with 2019, reports YVR’s airport authority. August was YVR’s busiest month of the summer, with the BC Day weekend seeing the most passengers—328,422 passengers from Aug. 4 to 7.

The airport’s passenger increase is fuelled by expanded services from its airline partners, including significant continued growth from Air Canada, adding key US destinations such as Miami and Washington Dulles.

“We are in a time of growth at YVR and as an industry,” said Tamara Vrooman, President & CEO at Vancouver Airport Authority. “We connected more passengers to more destinations over the summer. We also acted quickly to support our community when they needed it most – during one of our province’s most challenging wildfire seasons – and we continued to strengthen our work and partnership with Musqueam.”

From July through September, YVR saw a total of 59,796 arriving and departing flights with service provided by 110 airline partners. The airport processed more than 2.5 million outbound bags and maintained an average on-time performance of approximately 70% on departing flights.

The airport says it also saw strong uptake of its new digital tools. YVR Express was used by 76,789 departing passengers, representing approximately 10% of travellers flying during the service’s operating hours. YVR’s Passenger Journey Tool logged nearly 527,000 views.

Other airport highlights this year:

• In July, YVR raised and donated a total of $50,000 for wildfire relief efforts in British Columbia and the Northwest Territories. YVR also facilitated medical and evacuation flights from BC and NWT.

• In August, YVR and Musqueam opened the Musqueam Gathering Place and unveiled a hand-crafted 9-metre ocean-going canoe, created by Musqueam master carvers and YVR staff.

• YVR also held two Musqueam Marketplace events in the terminal, featuring local Indigenous artisans and makers, and opened Purebread, a popular local bakery. Alongside a number of other regional offerings, including Salmon N’Bannock On The Fly, Dirty Apron and Pacific Farms Market, YVR continues to elevate the shopping and dining experience for passengers, employees, and the community.

Heading into the fall season, the airport authority is encouraging travellers to plan ahead, arrive early, and leverage YVR’s digital tools to help streamline their travel journey.

Visit YVR.ca/TravelPlanning for more tips and information.