Vancouver Airport

✅ Verified Review | Worst inbound customs and immigration lines, and the worst experience I've ever had in an airport. Yes, worse than Bangkok without fast track, worse than Moscow. Budget for at least 2 hours to get through.

❎ Unverified | Departing from Vancouver - departure area disgusting. Food everywhere, spills on seats, armrests and the flooring, can't understand why the upkeep of this place can't be held up to the standard of the international part of the airport. Very disappointing and disheartening.

✅ Verified Review | Long lines to security upon departure and long lines to custom upon arrival. There are ways to address it but nothing done! Very un-productive. Very frustrating! Unhelpful employees. What else can you say? Process should be revisited by their management!

✅ Verified Review | Looked beautiful but certainly not user friendly for those requiring assistance. We arrived with plenty of time for our flight, using a lounge prepared for post-cruise use at the Fairmont. Moving from the hotel to Delta's ticket area was easy as was check in. I was surprised that the passenger was required to move their luggage to the screening area - and then load it as the gentleman watching the operation refused to assist. We were able to obtain a pusher for my wife's wheelchair easily. She was friendly for the more than 40 minute wait to go through security. Seems Canadian security decided that only one screening position was required for strollers and wheelchairs. The entire process was glacial, maybe even slower as there were maybe thirty people in line. Each wheelchair, ours provided by the airport, was inspected as if it was an annual maintenance check. The area immediately after passing through the passenger screening check point looked like a demolition derby of strollers and wheelchairs with screeners doing more thorough inspections and passengers trying to collect their bags, belts and shoes from the mass of items packed into a mess. Finally clearing dis-functional junction, we broke into the clear for a smooth transit through US immigration and customs before transiting the usually duty free goods tunnel of shopping bliss, then a several hundred yard walk to Gate 90. The gate area reminded me of the Delta small plane area at JFK - crowded, uncomfortable, and seemingly more temporary than permanent in nature. The lady who spent the better part of an hour assisting my wife was pleasant and most helpful as was the Delta gate agent. Having to move and load your bags after checking in with your airline then waiting for security screening solely because you require assistance made for a rather poor impression.

✅ Verified Review | Vancouver airport is a failure! The staff have no clue how to handle the crowds. Lines are very long and the airport doesn't have the capacity to service this number of flights. It seems for the managers increasing the number of flights is more important than the quality of the service. The picture is the passport check at the arrivals.

✅ Verified Review | Arrived at Vancouver after a good flight from UK to be informed that all transit passengers would have to collect thier own luggage and check in again for their onward journey. I had 2 hours and 35 minutes before my next flight to Calgary, plenty of time, I thought. After disemabarking from my flight we were faced with total and utter chaos inside the airport, in fact it was more akin to a cattle market. In my 40 years of world travel and visiting both large and small airports, this was my worst experience at any time, anywhere. All the "assistants" were young girls who were far to busy on their intercom phones to talk with anyone, they just pointed where we all had to go. It was some 1 hour and 45 minutes later that I managed to get into the main hall (downstairs) to retrieve my luggage. I was then informed that I had to go through security before I could check in for my onward journey to Calgary. This I have never ever known before and there was now only 50 minutes before my next flight. Of course there was yet another long queue for the security. Many travellers (some quite older people) were trying to ask the young staff if they would miss there onward flight, their reply was always the same "there is nothing we can do, just keep in the queue". There was nowhere for these older people to sit and rest and most were just being pushed along, this was not a nice thing to see. Eventually, near the end of the queue I could see that the Immigration officers were sitting and there was not a single person in the queue? I just could not see why we were queuing at all until, I saw some machines. These machines were now quiet obviously the issue that was causing all the chaos. Thousands of people and only a few machines to service all passengers, and of course it was very plain to see that most passengers were having issues in working these machines and there was not one member of airport staff to assist anywhere to be seen. I finally reached the machines, in fact they are now the declaration machines. I am very competent with computers and I could see why people were now having issues. There was one question at a time on the screen and right at the very bottom it says continue, most did not see this were just looking around the screen and looking for some help. Alas, there was no forthcoming save from the odd passenger, myself included who showed them how these machines operated. There were no clear instructions anywhere. Disguting design in my opinion. Eventully I filled in the declaration and form the machine I recieved a ticket. I then rushed to the nearest Immigration officer as I had 10 minutes left to check in and get to the boarding gate. The officer just looked at my passport and said have a good holiday and let me through very quickly. I then look at three different boards for my Flight number and boarding gate. It is only now that I am beggining to feel totally frustrated at the lack of staff around to assist. I went from one end of the check in right down to the other end and there was no check in for Air Transat to be found. Now with only 5 minutes left before my flight it was due to another passenger who waved at me and showed me where the check in was. It was tucked away right at the very end hidden around a corner. I just made my flight, others unfortunately did not. I shall never fly to this airport again.The whole experience and the way passengers were treated was utterly disguting.

✅ Verified Review | I got to the security lines at Vancouver Airport around 8:15AM, while my boarding was scheduled for 8:20 AM. The screens were showing the estimated waiting time of 5-10 Minutes, so I was calm, 15 minutes the line kept proceeding very slowly, so I got nervous and went to the security staff and politely asked them if they could fast track me, since my boarding has already started. The response was:"Sir, I can't do that!" So here I am standing additional 10 minutes in the line and running like crazy till my gate as the last passenger! Staff of this airport is so unfriendly and unhelpful! It's such a shame! Please investigate. I have never experienced such an unfriendly service.

✅ Verified Review | I am not surprised at all that Vancouver airport has gotten awards for being the best airport in North America several times already. I had the pleasure to arrive, depart and transit through YVR while being on an almost around-the-world-trip. On the day I departed the airport was very quiet and there were no lines at check-in nor at security. I was especially impressed by the decoration in the departure lounge which resembles a nature park. By mistake I left my wallet on a waiting bench and forgot about it. When I was about to reach the Cathay lounge, I heard my name on the intercom and suddendly realized that my wallet was missing. As told I rushed to the nearest information desk but there was nobody on duty. So I went to the supervisor of security and explained him my situation. After a couple of phone call by his assistant and a short waiting-time of five minutes a smartly dressed concierge appeared with my wallet in his hands. I thanked him and told him that I am surprised that the wallet was not stolen. He simply replied that I should not worry here in Vancouver: "We are honest people." I assure you that I will be back again.

✅ Verified Review | This is an excellent airport, from the quality of the people who work there, to the ease of movement about the place. We had no problems checking in for our flight to Florence. We had no problems on our return three weeks later from Zurich. Passport control and customs are well organized and we experienced no significant delays. Where possible, things like passport checks are done electronically, speeding things up. It is one of the best airports I have experienced. People are kind and knowledgeable. There is also a great deal of Northwest art in the airport, adding to the experience.

✅ Verified Review | Vancouver airport is clean, beautiful, great seating, food, and has very friendly staff wandering about to help out. My one concern is the international and domestic security. I travel, worldwide, often. And, I come through YVR often. Almost every time, the security personnel are discourteous and unorganized. Today, the person directing us towards numbered lines was rude and her instructions were very unclear and scattered. There were many non English speaking people in line which were barked at by her and several others. Speaking loudly and rudely does not magically make things clear. It makes people uneasy and confused. English is my first language and I wasn't even sure what she, and others wanted, or why we were being spoken to that way. There was obvious animosity between 2 staff which caused a back up as one refused to step up to help us move along, SO unprofessional. I understand that security personnal have an important job to do, and they're not there to be best friends with us, but they could do much better. They can be organized, kind, friendly, firm, and clear all at the same time. Security, in many other airports manages to do it quite well. The security at YVR is consistently unprofessional. This does not put our minds at ease.