Vancouver Airport Was A Mess This Weekend & Lineups Lasted Hours Into The Night
A bunch of travellers posted videos of the chaos.
Vancouver airport.
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.
\u201cWe\u2019re aware that CATSA's contracted security screening provider is experiencing a staffing shortage today at YVR. Passengers are seeing longer than normal lines at screening points. We are mobilizing our Guest Experience team to help keep people moving. Thanks for your patience.\u201d— YVR (@YVR) 1661701515
The airport suggested that travellers give themselves three hours of travel time for both domestic and international flights.
\u201cWe continue to see long lines due to a significant and unexpected staffing shortage with CATSA's contractor. Recommend coming to YVR 3 hrs before flights until further notice. We apologize, this is not the experience we want people to have at YVR. https://t.co/t87pMqm0Qn\u201d— YVR (@YVR) 1661725082
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.
\u201c@yvrairport This security line is completey unacceptable. Here\u2019s a video I took while walking most of it as of 15 minutes ago. Twitter video cuts off after 140secs\u201d— YVR (@YVR) 1661701515
Other videos showed the line extending all the way to the Fairmont Vancouver Airport hotel — which is at the other end of the airport.
\u201c@ConnorMcGe3 @yvrairport 2 out of the 4 checkpoints are closed due staffing shortage. That line goes all the way to the fairmont hotel which is at the other end of the airport.\nSeems like Catsa employees are on a strike. No heads up from yvr\u201d— YVR (@YVR) 1661701515
Some other travellers said that their planes were forced to be delayed to accommodate passengers in the lineups.
\u201c@brettballah @sandrasmithyvr @yvrairport Ive been sitting on a plane delayed since we're waiting for folks...\n\nI guess it's delaying all outbound flights as they are waiting for large numbers of customers.\u201d— YVR (@YVR) 1661701515
YVR airport also recommended, late on Sunday evening, that passengers check with their airline to see the latest flight status.
\u201cWe are also seeing some flight delays today, so please check with your airline for the latest status. Thank you for your patience as we manage through this challenging situation.\u201d— YVR (@YVR) 1661725832
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.
\u201c@saffabhoy Hi there, our best recommendation at this time is to arrive 3 hours prior for international departures, and 2 hours prior for domestic departures. Hope this helps!\u201d— manubear (@manubear) 1661780873
You can also check the current security screening wait times through the CATSA website.
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