The traveler shared a video of what he saw outside.
One woman said she experienced some of the “most intense turmoil” of her life on a plane arriving in Vancouver on the night of Dec. 4.
Giovanna Boniface was on an Air Canada flight from Toronto Lester B. Pearson International Airport (YYZ) to Vancouver International Airport (YVR) when she encountered rough weather.
“We already knew we were going into a storm, but the pilot said it was going pretty well,” she told VIA.
“But the last hour or two was terrible.”
An atmospheric river pounded B.C.’s coast with heavy rain and strong winds throughout the day and overnight Monday. The weather system, classified as Pineapple Express, formed near Hawaii and brought heavy rain to the area for hours.
Boniface, who travels frequently, said she tried to remain calm during the worst of the turmoil, but her husband was nervous. The first few hours of the flight were uneventful, but halfway across B.C. the flight began to feel “very bumpy,” worsening as it circled over the water before landing at YVR.
As the airport was slightly backed up, the plane fell into a holding pattern before landing. The traveler added that while he may have been unable to stand during the worst of the turbulence, “nothing was flying around.”
view of #AtmosphericRiver From ~30,000 feet – 30 minutes from Vancouver suburbs #ShareYourWeather #YVRwx #BCwx #BCArashi #B.C #weather #storm #Pineapple Express #BCrain pic.twitter.com/cwSEE56q7h
— Giovanna (she/her) Boniface, OT (@BonifaceGio) December 5, 2023
Metro Vancouver weather forecast included powerful storms
Although the couple was relieved to be able to get off the plane, Boniface said it was far less scary than the experience he had had decades ago when he flew from Johannesburg, South Africa, to London, England.
“It was scary, right above the thunder and lightning,” she said, adding that the seven- to eight-hour experience left her so rattled that she never wanted to fly again.
Boniface said the plane circled for a while before landing, but YVR told VIA its operations were not affected by the B.C. storm.
Travelers should always check the local and destination weather before heading to the airport. Because both, and the weather in between, will affect your flight.
Metro Vancouver’s weather forecast doesn’t call for any major storms this week, but locals could easily miss out on rain as well.
