Vancouver Airport Was A Mess This Weekend & Lineups Lasted Hours Into The Night

Flying from the Vancouver airport turned out to be absolute chaos for travellers this weekend, with much longer waiting lines than anticipated.

In a Twitter post on August 28, YVR attributed the delay to a 'staffing shortage' at the end of the airport's contracted security screening provider, CASTA (Canadian Air Transport Security Authority). "Passengers are seeing longer than normal lines at screening points," it added.

The airport suggested that travellers give themselves three hours of travel time for both domestic and international flights.

Many aggrieved travellers took to social media to express their complaints as well as post some videos of the situation at the airport.

"This security line is completely unacceptable," said one traveller.

Other videos showed the line extending all the way to the Fairmont Vancouver Airport hotel — which is at the other end of the airport.

Some other travellers said that their planes were forced to be delayed to accommodate passengers in the lineups.

YVR airport also recommended, late on Sunday evening, that passengers check with their airline to see the latest flight status.

The airport's guest experience team and additional airport authority staff had to jump in to help travellers on the terminal that day, according to a YVR media release.

"This experience is not common at YVR. Today’s congestion demonstrates the importance of finding a long-term solution for Canada’s aviation ecosystem as we build back from the impacts of the global COVID-19 pandemic," it added.

On Monday, YVR has recommended passengers give themselves extra time ahead of all flights.

You can also check the current security screening wait times through the CATSA website.