Vancouver Airport

Not Verified | Over 60 mins wait for luggage at this airport with no announcement. All the passengers from the flight from Montreal left in limbo. Either Air Canada or YVR baggage services have no shame or pride in their client service.

Not Verified | I recently transited through YVR. A WestJet flight booked by my company for work was delayed, causing me to miss my connecting flight to China. Then they lost my bag or could not verify it’s location. They claimed it was with Air China on its way to China or possibly Sydney without me. Fortunately during my search I met Tina in the airport customer service. She took care of me, and found my bag within an hour. She went above and beyond and I was able to get my luggage and continue on other airlines to be to at work on time in SE Asia . Tina is a very good representative for the YVR airport.

✅ Trip Verified | Very rude security. Yelling at people, just a joke I’ve been all around the world and this airport makes Canada look like terrible. I’m embarrassed to be Canadian with these people Acting like this! This is not the first time. This has happen many times.

✅ Trip Verified | Prior to the security area, this airport was acceptable. Although there was a lack of clear signage for Air Canada baggage check in creating confusing lines, the process was otherwise efficient. Once we left baggage check in and entered security, the experience became very unpleasant. As other reviewers have noted some of the security agents were rude. It was also bizarre that our boarding passes and passports were checked probably 4 times between the baggage check in and leaving the security checkpoint. At one of those instances they checked passes IMMEDIATELY before passing through the scanner (like while standing at the conveyor belt after you’ve removed shoes and laptops and placed everything on the belt to go through the screening). They were annoyed that people had to pull out phones to show passes, and then were also annoyed when telling people to then put everything back on the belt for screening. This was completely inefficient and unnecessary. Subsequently, the numbering system for the terminal gates are counterintuitive. The numbers go in REVERSE order and also split at weird points. Overall this airport was one of the more confusing ones we’ve been in, both in layout and in their procedures.

✅ Trip Verified | YVR has issues with planning in their baggage claim area. We were arriving on a flight from Montreal on a Boeing 777-300ER that was nearly full. This already means that there can be 400+ passengers. We arrive at baggage claim, and send to carousel 4. This would normally be a normal process, but the handlers at YVR, in their infinite wisdom decided to also have a flight from Ottawa's baggage, which arrived close to the same time, assigned to the same carousel. This just created chaos. It appeared that the passengers from Montreal was first to arrive, but most of the baggage that came out was initially from Ottawa. This resulted in the carousel getting overloaded and jammed up. No new luggage was arriving. There was no communication for almost an hour about the situation. What was even worse about this was that the other carousels were empty and not being used, or clear, as the carousel next to #4 had baggage from Toronto, but had already been cleared. It was a mess. Only after about an hour were we advised that they had put two flights onto the same carousel and that ithe system was jammed. Another 15 minutes later, it was communicated that if we were waiting for our baggage that it would come down carousel 5. However, they did not let people know that there was a chance that their baggage could still come down #4 if the jam was fixed. We could have missed our baggage coming down #4 if was had not been attentive. Overall, with empty carousels, two flights of baggage would not be assigned to the same carousel at the same time. We should not have to wait over an hour to claim our baggage. Just poor management shown here.

✅ Trip Verified | Starting last year, I have noticed a significant issue with the employees at Vancouver Airport. The employees, especially the security guards, can barely speak English, which leads to misinformation. Last winter, one of the security guards literally yelled at my mother for sitting in the wrong spot. This time, my parents had to stay at the airport for a night due to a snowstorm. I truly attempted to understand the stress and workload of the security personnel, but it was simply unacceptable. Just a few days ago, I met a family member for the first time in a year. We had planned to have lunch before our flights, as they were taking an international flight and I was taking a domestic flight on the same day. I ensured that we could meet after the security check, and the guard was very certain that we could. However, after passing through the security check, we couldn't meet because there was a gate separating international and domestic flights. I spoke to the security officer who was stationed at the gate and asked her about it. She said that it was "common sense" that people taking domestic flights could not cross this gate. She seemed "annoyed" with me, and I reminded her that the security guard had confirmed that I could cross. Therefore, I had to ask her if I could quickly say goodbye to them at the gate, which further annoyed her, and she said, "I hope this doesn't get me fired." If you are employed as security at an international airport, you should at least be knowledgeable about your responsibilities and possess a certain level of language skills that allows for effective communication. I am tired of encountering rude security personnel, and frankly, I have strong doubts that the situation will improve.

✅ Trip Verified | This is the first time I've traveled through YVR in 18 years. What a transformation from 2005. This review is based solely on the US departures terminal. This is a very brightly lit huge terminal with plenty of check in counters for US and International Air carriers as well as Canadian carriers flying to the USA. There are plenty of shops though I felt the dining options were limited pre-security. The bathrooms are clean and the YVR information desk very helpful. Going through security was a little confusing but a breeze. The bonus for YVR is clearing US Customs and Immigration for trans-border flights. The Airport Wi-Fi was fast and worked flawlessly. One added bonus is the SkyTrain which go from the airport to downtown Vancouver. When visiting YVR, I usually fly to Seattle and then drive up; however in this instance my choice to fly to Vancouver directly was well worth it. One of the best airports I've flown through.

✅ Trip Verified | Lacking in charging ports at C gates. One in actual seating area has no power to it. Saw at least 6 people sitting on the floor down the hall and by the bathrooms to charge devices

✅ Trip Verified | Upon arrival at YVR for our trip to Mexico, we went directly to "Westjet International Departures" which is where you would think is the most obvious choice for check-in desks. Four out of the six of us needed to check our bags otherwise things would have been fine. We discovered a sign that stated "if flying to Mexico go to check-in #34". I believe the Westjet International Departure desks were numbered in the 70's or 80's. We proceeded to make our way down to desk #34, which is at the other end of the airport=, only to find it in the "DOMESTIC DEPARTURES". Since when is Mexico domestic when flying out of Vancouver=? Once we checked our bags we then had to hoof it all the way back to "International Departures" to go through security. Who at YVR thought this was a good idea? There are plenty of desks at the Westjet International Departures to accommodate travelers. YVR, you really need to fix this faux pas.

✅ Trip Verified | The security attendant threw away away my Epsom salt. She said organic matter had to be less than 350ml but had no way of verifying that volume amount. She held it in her hand and decided it weighed too much even though she had no way to verify that. This restriction was no listed in the allowances at check in and has never been a problem in the past. I cannot find any other list showing that restriction. Confusing, unnecessary, and very disappointing .