Vancouver Airport

Flew out of Vancouver airport to USA (SFO) on a Sunday morning - a nightmare! Check in was reasonable if somewhat unfriendly. Then a LONG zigzag queue which moved VERY slowly - 30+min to get through immigration. With such a slow throughput I was amazed to find the same again for security - 30min this time. Although travelling to USA we were told that we could not access the executive lounge because it was for international departures only! Very poor signage – difficult to navigate. Make sure you arrive a long time before your flight. Reckon it will be chaos for the Olympics next year.

I would like to add a comment in support of all the complaints regarding the amount of walking that has to be done when arriving from the U.S. for an international departure (and I assume vice-versa). I paced it last time and from the Air Canada Jazz gate to the customs and immigration line was 1000+ meters/almost 2/3 mile. So if you're on a tight turn or are infirm or not able to walk long distances just the walk is an issue. Then when you get through the inbound customs it's another couple hundred meters to check-in/security outbound. And the idea that they have a huge international departure concourse but you cannot get into it without entering Canada first is ridiculous. if you can avoid this airport do so unless you need the hassle and exercise.

Very easy to navigate with clear signage and even free WiFi. It is great to see they're putting in a light rail line in preparation for the Winter Olympics next year and this they say should be ready in the next 2-3 months. Otherwise a cab is for only $25-30 CAD or the Airporter Shuttle (which I would not recommend as it is often delayed/off-schedule) if you aren't in a rush.

The switch from domestic to international is a killer. One has to walk a long ways to get from one to the other. One major issue I had was the security going into the international section. The return trip is always a hassle since one has to walk a long way to get to immigration with only one line that snakes around to get to an immigration agent. Then pick up your bags at the carousel to go through customs. And then drop it off at another carousel. After one goes upstairs to get to the domestic side and walk to the other side of the terminal. I wonder what it would be like during the Vancouver Olympics.

Vancouver is a beautiful airport as long as you are departing. Arriving in Vancouver on an International Flight and then spend up to three hours to go through Customs is a disgraceful situation. It is terribly hard on most people and especially those who are elderly or have health problems to shuffle along for hours at a time at the end of a very long journey. There are too many international and other flights arriving all at the same time with big gaps throughout the day when I suspect the staff is minimum and planes are not arriving.

Arrived on AC02 from Tokyo connecting to YYZ. No AC agent at arrival despite having had to wait 30 min on the tarmac (apparently due to JAL flight security issue) - once past immigration and customs somewhat unclear pathway for (within Canada) connecting passengers. Gate 50 horribly crowded ; poor boarding procedure by AC staff - seemingly unable to "control mad rush for the doors" and provide civilized advance boarding for exec/Elite passengers - this is a common problem with many AC flights.

Extremely satisfied every time with the services received at YVR. For the most part the facilities are kept clean there's a good variety of food services and retail boutiques and there has always been sufficient staffing to avoid lengthy delays for check-in and customs.

Arrived YVR at 0932 from NRT en route to YYZ on rerouted AC-002. Despite the fact that we landed three minutes after the JAL flight the line for immigration only took 15 minutes and we were treated well. Same for customs who seem to have an excellent system to facilitate connecting passengers. Then everything fell apart! We had to join a security screening line for transit passengers. This area had only one (x-ray?) screening machine when we went through it around 1030. To make matters worse whenever anything suspicious was detected the operator (middle-aged white male) stopped everything to personally inspect the bags in question! Utterly ridiculous! Why YVR management allows this terrible bottleneck to cast a blight on an otherwise excellent airport is incomprehensible! This airport would have rated a 4.5 but the security handling for transit passengers bumps it way down to 3.0!

International arrival from Amsterdam: smooth handling from customs to luggage although with full flights on a MD-11 or B747 the time difference if your suitcase is the first or the last can be 20 minutes (but that is true in every airport). On departure to Amsterdam also everything good. Nice departures area. Some building activities now to prepare for 2010 Olympics (including new metro line to the city) but no major hassle for me.

The ambience is the first thing I notice about Vancouver airport - very nice. That said lines in arrivals for immigration while well-organized enough are appalling during peak periods. Not terribly impressed by the efficiency or attitude of the Canadian Customs agents either. Arrival area space in the international terminal also seems to be inadequate given the crowds of people waiting to welcome family and relatives arriving from Asia. Overall despite the hassles at arrivals this ranks as one of my favorite airports to travel through.