Vancouver Airport Passenger Reviews and Vancouver Airport Traveller Reports

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What a change in Vancouver Airport. Arrived from Cuba on April 20th and with the new scanners for customs and Immigration it was a breeze to go through.

Horrific experience at Vancouver customs upon arrival from the US. The details are shocking and too many to list. As beautiful as Vancouver is and as much as I would like to go back and spend my money on their tourism industry. Never again would I go.

I traveled to and from Honolulu on Feb 28 and March 6. I use a walker and the priority service I received was excellent. In spite of so many reservations that I had because of my diminished mobility, I would dare to travel again! My only difficulty came when I needed to board the "golf cart" that would be transporting me from plane area to the luggage area. The step is high that I literally had to be hoisted on to the cart. A step that is so high is surely not for the people it is meant to accommodate at the airport. I would like to see some adaptation made to rectify that oversight.

Free wifi and an excellent looking airport. Local to the city and glad to call it my home airport, so close to downtown! There is an aquarium, totem poles, and a stream running through it. USA border and security is fast, when considering how extensive checks are. Fast LRT line from airport to downtown. Airport is always clean and bathrooms are immaculate. Plenty of restaurants and shops in terminal, and parking is easily accessible and very close to all terminals. Good views while landing as well.

Great airport clean and very organised. Free wifi plenty of outlets for food and shopping. A pleasure to visit.

For arriving international passengers, YVR is an embarrassment. Start with the condescending attitude of some of the staff 'helping' you navigate the automated passport machines. Then a reasonably quick trip through customs and immigration and baggage gives you hope. Then, with a few hundred passengers trying to get their bags checked in for another flight, YVR allows a very long queue to form. Next comes the security bottleneck with two checkpoints for all those people, it took us close to an hour to clear our flight through that security point - I cannot imagine what happens when more than one comes in. With the exception of a very professional young woman steering you into one of the two lines, the security staff were silent, slow and unfriendly. Some people needed assistance, but that was scarce and those with tight connections were not given any leeway. After a 15 hour flight from Sydney, with everyone tired, I can only say the passengers subjected to this treatment were more helpful and courteous in getting each other through than the staff at YVR. I have been though most of the world's big airports, and this is the best we can do?

While YVR has a nice waterfall and ponds, it is still a lacklustre airport. Food options are overpriced and limited. Washrooms are dirty and smelly. Terminals do not have sufficient glass and do not let in enough light. Feels like you are in an abandoned warehouse. Security officials and border officials are rude, aggressive and intimidating. On the last few times travelling out of YVR, I have been subjected to intrusive pat down searches. Why is it that international passengers connecting to US/Canadian destinations have to collect their luggage, and then re check-in their luggage prior to boarding their next flight? Transiting at Amsterdam, London Heathrow, Hong Kong, among others, is far easier than through YVR, because of this. Quite disappointing for an airport that prides itself on being World Class.

Everything about my experience at Vancouver airport was excellent except for the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority - CATSA. The airport was clean, the wifi acceptable, and all other staff competent and helpful. The CATSA agents for flights to the USA, on the other hand, were both incompetent and refused to communicate with passengers. We were near the front of the line and still waited well >30min while only one scanner was put to use and the staff and supervisor refused to respond to any questions regarding the situation or to any requests to inform the airline of the situation so that passengers would not miss their connecting flights. I want to wholeheartedly recommend this airport to others as everything else was excellent, but as long as the airport security acts with incompetence and lack of communication, I cannot recommend this airport.

The Customs line was long. There were several UK and Asian flights at one time. The result was over 300 people in the customs hall and only three people to process them. The agents were curt and rude. There is a covert charge added to all tickets here called an airport improvement fee which used to be collected in cash at the gate but its now added to the fare. It's clear to see where the money has gone, plush carpets and waterfalls are all very pleasant but I would have preferred the money to be spent on more staff to man the counters. Pretty airport if you really care about these things.

My review focuses on two matters: Transit passenger handling at immigration and Staff knowledge of the airport and its facilities. I arrived in Vancouver at around 9pm to transit for a transpacific flight at around 2.45am the following morning. On the Air Canada flight, I advised the steward that I was transiting and he advised me that I did not need to complete a customs and immigration form. On arrival, the transit lane was closed and I was advised to proceed through the normal channel and to advise the immigration officer that I was transiting. I did so. The immigration officer (courteously) advised that I did need to complete the paperwork, which I did. When I was called back to immigration it was by another officer who, when I told her I was in transit, gave me a pink card and told me the paperwork was not necessary. Someone in immigration is confused, as am I. After all was done at immigration, I proceeded to the lady who had directed me to immigration in the first place. She advised me to proceed up to the next level. When I asked her for the location of the Cathay Pacific business class lounge, she advised me that it was upstairs but that I should proceed to gate 64. To make a long story short, no one was at gate 64 as the flight was still 5 hours away. I asked several people, including a janitor, a Customs and Border Officer, and a shop attendant where the lounge was. Only the shop attendant could direct me correctly. Amazingly, the Customs and Border Officer - though very courteous - laughed as he told me that he was responsible for security but had never been there. Vancouver has a beautiful airport - as do most Canadian cities. However, Canadian authorities should see to the education of those working in their airports. It's disconcerting when security officials admit that they don't know the place they're assigned to secure!

Maybe I picked a bad day, but on arrival from LHR on a BA flight, on entering the immigration hall, it was akin to queuing for a ride at Disneyland. People were being herded like animals at a cattle market and this experience made Heathrow look efficient! When I did get to the Officer who processed my entry, I would suggest he spends a few weeks at charm school. An awful experience which was appeased by the efficient transportation options into the city.

Flew in from LHR with Virgin. What a pleasant airport this is. Terminal staff friendly. Very clean and modern. I loved the water features on the way to immigration. I was one of the last off our flight and I do not know if any other flights had arrived at about the same time but the line for immigration was short and moved quickly. Within minutes I was on my way downtown via Canada Line skytrain (airport - downtown about 25 mins) I have read a lot of reviews about horrendous queues at US airports and maybe I was just lucky but I am glad I flew into such a nice airport serving a great city.

4.5 hour transfer from SFO to NRT. Facilities clean and convenient, effort to make the airport a pleasant place is clearly visible. Big screen was showing Euro 2012 game, which is quite a plus at an international facility. The only improvement point is a relative lack of food choices, especially since passengers are stuck in separate service zones (int'l, US, and domestic). Otherwise a good experience.

Recently flew from Chicago to Vancouver and was surprised to see that immigration was less then 10 minutes even though 2 flights from Asia had just arrived and baggage was out right away. Do I see some improvement in this airport or is this a one time thing?

Local resident - use 3 to 5 times per year. Very happy with the airport - it is a welcome place to return through and a pleasant place to leave from. In the context of the norms of all airport processing. Free wifi has long been a YVR staple. Water and sculpture features add a strong sense of identity, and make this a nicer place to be than any standard hub. US pre-departure immigration clearance (yes, from within the Vancouver airport in Canada) can be a longer wait, and not so friendly.

Flying from O'Hare through YVR connecting to SYD. I found YVR very nice, clean and a pleasure to be stranded for 6 hours. Everyone very friendly and helpful. I had the option of the train to downtown Vancouver or relax at the airport. Food court ok, duty free shopping nice. Clean and open space. Shopping ok.

Arrived from PHX on Westjet. I was expecting a long walk from the gate to baggage claim, and I was right. At least the scenery was pleasant to look at. Baggage claim was confusing, but did manage to figure it out. Finding the domestic connection bag drop off was tricky, I had to ask someone as signage was poor. I thought Toronto Pearson was a long walk, but this was easily twice the distance for an airport half the size to the Westjet gates. I was surprised. Overall I would avoid this airport when arriving from the US.

Great airport all around! Open, airy with great decor. Lots of shops, restaurants and services throughout all terminals. (Although some do shut early). Customs and immigration is average but quick for Canadians using the Kiosk. Information signage is frequent and clear. Electronic information signage changes language frequently to help international visitors.

All terminals and washrooms clean. Food choices are great and so are the shops. The interior design is fantastic, with ponds and totem poles around the terminals and a large waterfall with a wood carving in the middle. Signs are placed accordingly and are helpful and easy to read. Security can be a drag, especially going to international destinations. Overall a great airport to fly in and out of.

Customer Rating :  5/5

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Customer Rating :  4/5

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Customer Rating :  5/5

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Customer Rating :  5/5

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Customer Rating :  5/5

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Customer Rating :  5/5

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Customer Rating :  5/5

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Customer Rating :  4/5

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Customer Rating :  2/5

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Customer Rating :  5/5

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Customer Rating :  5/5

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Customer Rating :  4/5

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Customer Rating :  4/5

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Customer Rating :  2/5

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Customer Rating :  4/5

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Customer Rating :  4/5

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