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Vancouver International Airport (YVR) has released its passenger numbers for the first half of 2016. From January to June, YVR welcomed 10.5 million passengers—an increase of 8.1 per cent over the same period in 2015—and is on track to break another passenger record by year-end.
“As a community-based organization, YVR is committed to growing sustainably while providing economic and social benefits for our region,” said Craig Richmond, president and CEO, Vancouver Airport Authority. “Thanks to the ongoing support of our airline partners and the hard work of our team, which includes local tourism bodies, we are achieving our vision—to make YVR a world-class connecting hub.”
Year-over-year passenger growth highlights: January to June 2016
– 10.5 million passengers, an 8.1 per cent increase over the same period in 2015;
– 13.7 per cent increase in International traffic;
– 7.6 per cent increase in Domestic traffic; and
– 3.8 per cent increase in Transborder (US) traffic.
International traffic (Latin America, Asia Pacific, Europe)
From January to June 2016, international traffic (excluding the U.S.) increased by 13.7 per cent over the same period in 2015. This includes:
Latin America
YVR continued to deliver on its vision of connecting Asia to the Americas, with the strongest year-over-year growth (20 per cent) in Latin America. In addition to Air Canada’s service to Mexico City, Aeromexico’s new non-stop service to Mexico City, which started in December 2015, has been a key component of this growth.
Asia Pacific
YVR’s Asia Pacific traffic continued to grow for the first half of 2016, up 12.9 per cent. New services that contributed to this sector’s strong growth include: Air Canada Rouge non-stop to Osaka and China Eastern direct to Kunming.
Capacity increases on existing services also boosted passenger growth; this includes Eva Air’s increased frequency on its service to Taipei, from four to five times weekly, and Korean Air’s increase to daily on its service to Seoul. YVR anticipates that Air Canada’s new non-stop daily service to Brisbane, which launched on June 1, will greatly contribute to growth in this region.
In addition, YVR forecasts further growth thanks to Air Canada’s exciting new non-stop service to Delhi, which starts on October 20.
Europe
The Europe sector gained 12.9 per cent over the same period in 2015. New services that contributed to this growth include WestJet’s first wide-body international service to Gatwick, Air Transat’s seasonal service to Rome (a first for YVR), Air Canada Rouge’s service to Dublin (another first for YVR), Air Canada’s seasonal Double Daily service to Heathrow and British Airways’ new Airbus A380 service on its YVR to London route.
Transborder traffic
The Transborder (U.S.) sector was up 3.8 per cent over the same period last year. Air Canada’s new non-stop services to San Jose, San Diego and Chicago helped drive this increase, as did WestJet’s new seasonal service to Orlando and San Diego.
And on June 17, Air Canada launched daily 787-8 Dreamliner service on its Vancouver–Newark route. YVR anticipates that the route’s increased capacity and the Dreamliner’s exceptional customer experience will positively impact growth in this key market.
Domestic traffic
The Domestic sector increased 7.6 per cent over 2015, thanks to the continued support of Air Canada’s network and new services such as WestJet non-stop from YVR to Halifax, London and Hamilton, Ont.
“I would like to thank our airline partners at YVR, who have contributed to a fantastic period of growth for our airport and our region,” said Richmond. “We are set to surpass 21 million passengers this year and we have an ambitious goal of 25 million passengers by 2020. We will achieve this by working together to support new and existing services, connecting British Columbia proudly to the world.”
YVR will release its Q3 passenger figures in fall 2016.
