Vancouver International Airport (YVR) has started the next phase of a multi-year capital improvement program that includes a much-needed expansion of its Pier D international terminal.
The terminal expansion"”the airport"™s largest in more than two decade"”will add four new gates and four remote stands configured to support aircraft up through the Airbus A380. YVR executives and regional officials held a ceremonial groundbreaking for the new work June 14. The new Pier D gates are expected to open in mid-2020, with minor finishing work continuing until 2021, a YVR spokesperson said.
The Pier D work is part of a C$9.1 billion ($6.9 billion) expansion that includes 75 major projects during the next 20 years. Items on the list include re-configuring its landside parking to accommodate 10 additional remote-stand parking areas, adding runway safety areas, and constructing a new central utilities building.
Much of the work is being fast-tracked to support YVR"™s rapid growth. The airport served a record 24.2 million passengers in 2017, up 8.4% year-over-year. The figure is projected to reach 29 million in 2020"”or four million more than the goal envisioned, and planned for, just a few years ago.
International passenger"”excluding transborder flyer"”make up about 25% of YVR"™s traffic and are out-pacing the overall figure, rising 13% in 2017 and 17% in 2016. The rapid growth and revised projections are built into the airport"™s updated master plan, which applies a more aggressive timeline to some key projects.
Adding airside capacity has meant making a few compromises. The 10 remote stands planned for the terminal"™s east side, opposite the west-side Pier D expansion, will be built on existing passenger parking, removing 2,000 spaces. YVR is setting up a new valet service to compensate for the lost spots…
