Flights to and from Vancouver International Airport (YVR) are now more likely to arrive on time.
Starting October 29, 2023, YVR will permanently transition to a runway slot system for commercial operators and pleasure and charter aircraft. This follows the introduction of the system for commercial airlines for the first time in June, with Air Canada, WestJet and all other passenger airlines migrating to the new system.
Runway slot systems provide aircraft with specific scheduled time slots for takeoff or landing on runways and for use of aprons and taxiways. This system is very common at large, busy international airports.
Before the transition, YVR did not have an advance reservation system because it could manage an unlimited amount of traffic. The general and business aviation segment will access runway slots through YVR’s new airport reservations office, which uses a web-based system for reservations.
“Before the introduction of the runway slot system, infrastructure and runway availability were the main factors for establishing flight schedules. With the introduction of the runway slot system, all air traffic operations at YVR ,” a Vancouver Airport Authority spokesperson told Daily Hive Urbanized.
“This system maximizes reliability and efficiency, ensuring the continued safe operation of our airside infrastructure for the benefit of our communities and the economies that support them.”
According to the airport authority, the new system will lead to better optimized flight schedules, more reliable runway access, improved overall punctuality and reduced taxiing times for aircraft. This also helps reduce carbon emissions by reducing idling on the tarmac.
However, aircraft and flight types exempted from applying for slots in the new system include seaplanes using the YVR airstrip on the Fraser River, active rescue flights, aircraft conducting NAVAID flight inspections, and military/customs/police services. Flights, flights with heads of state, flights involving active firefighting, helicopters flying VFR, diversion of aircraft due to mechanical/medical emergencies, etc.
According to the latest statistics available to YVR, the airport served 2.45 million passengers in July 2023, including 1.26 million domestic passengers, 638,000 cross-border passengers, and Asia-Pacific passengers. 302,000 people in the region and 193,000 people in Europe. This is close to YVR’s 2.6 million passenger total for the same month in 2019, before the pandemic.
Regarding runway movements, 15,808 jet aircraft, 7,771 turboprop aircraft, and 403 piston aircraft were observed at YVR in July 2023.
