Vancouver International Airport's weekly passenger volume has climbed back to be within one per cent of where it was before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Vancouver Airport Authority (VAA), which runs the airport, today told BIV that it expects 496,923 passengers to either board or disembark planes in the week starting today (Sept. 11) and running until Sept. 17. That makes for an average of 70,989 passengers per day, down by 0.8 per cent from 2019.
In 2019, before the pandemic, the airport welcomed 500,910 passengers in that same time period, for an average of 71,559 passengers per day, according to the VAA.
The 496,923 passengers expected this week include 252,673 arrivals and 244,250 departures. Of the arrivals, more than half (51.1 per cent) are Canadians, while nearly 23.8 per cent are Americans and the remaining 25.1 per cent are international visitors.
Of the departures, more than 52.6 per cent are expected to be Canadians, while nearly 22.7 per cent are set to be Americans and 24.7 per cent are to be international visitors.
The busiest day is expected to be Friday (Sept. 15), when 72,782 passengers are expected to pass through the airport.
In what was a sign that air-passenger volumes are back to where they were before the pandemic, Vancouver International Airport (YVR) on Labour Day weekend saw traffic rise slightly above what it was during Labour Day weekend in 2019.
The airport on that Sept. 1 through Sept. 4 weekend saw 322,327 passengers either board or disembark planes, according to the VAA. That was about 0.8 per cent more than the 319,729 passengers who passed through YVR on Labour Day weekend in 2019.
