Jump to content

Victoria International Airport

Coordinates: 48°38′50″N 123°25′33″W / 48.64722°N 123.42583°W / 48.64722; -123.42583
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Rubus spectabilis (talk | contribs) at 18:11, 24 September 2018 (→Transportation to the airport: Bus routes/operators changes). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

"Victoria Airport" redirects here. For other nearby airports, see List of airports in Greater Victoria.
Victoria International Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerTransport Canada[1]
OperatorVictoria Airport Authority
ServesVictoria, British Columbia
LocationNorth Saanich, British Columbia
Time zonePST (UTC−08:00)
 • Summer (DST)PDT (UTC−07:00)
Elevation AMSL64 ft / 20 m
Coordinates48°38′50″N 123°25′33″W / 48.64722°N 123.42583°W / 48.64722; -123.42583
Websitewww.victoriaairport.com
Map
CYYJ is located in British Columbia
CYYJ
CYYJ
Location in British Columbia
CYYJ is located in Canada
CYYJ
CYYJ
CYYJ (Canada)
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
09/27 6,998 2,133 Asphalt
03/21 5,027 1,532 Asphalt
14/32 5,001 1,524 Asphalt
Statistics (2017)
Aircraft movements126,782
Number of passengers1,934,842
Sources: Canada Flight Supplement[2]
Environment Canada[3]
Victoria Airport Authority Facts & Stats[4]

Victoria International Airport (IATA: YYJ, ICAO: CYYJ) serves Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It is 12 nautical miles (22 km; 14 mi) north northwest[2] of Victoria on the Saanich Peninsula, with the bulk of the airport (including the passenger terminal) in North Saanich, and a small portion of the airfield extending into Sidney. The airport is run by the Victoria Airport Authority.

Like most airports that are run by local authorities in Canada, Victoria International Airport charges an Airport improvement fee for each outgoing passenger. As of March 2017, it was $15.00.[5]

The airport is classified as an airport of entry by Nav Canada and is staffed by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). CBSA officers at this airport can handle aircraft with no more than 450 passengers, when unloaded from the aircraft in stages, or 120 normally.[2] YYJ does not have U.S. preclearance.

In 2016, YYJ served 1,856,421[4] passengers and had 135,708[4] aircraft movements making it Canada's 10th busiest airport in terms of passengers. It was British Columbia's second busiest airport in terms of passengers and aircraft movements.

There are two popular locations for plane spotters. The first is at the end of Canora Road, on the south-east side of the airport, next to a small cemetery. A second, lesser-known location is an open field off of Mills Road, near the Mills Road and Meadland Road intersection on the north-east corner of the airport.

History

The airport started in 1939 as a grass strip, and was used as a military training airfield.[6] During the early part of WWII (1940 - 1941), the airfield was used as Royal Air Force Station Patricia Bay, for training personnel for basic flying training, preparatory to returning them to the UK.

The airport is located beside Patricia Bay, which, due to the prevalence of flying boats at the time, proved to be an excellent location. The Department of Transport took over the airport in 1948. It was then called Victoria (Patricia Bay) Airport, and many locals still refer to it as the "Pat Bay Airport". Trans-Canada Airlines (later Air Canada) began regular service in 1943.

The last Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) unit left the airport in 1952. In the late 1980s the RCAF returned to the property when 443 Helicopter Squadron began operating CH-124 Sea King ship-borne anti-submarine helicopters from Victoria International Airport. The RCAF refers to 443 Squadron operations at the airport as the Patricia Bay Heliport.

In 1959, the airport was renamed the "Victoria International Airport".

In 1997, as part of a broad scale restructuring of airports across Canada, Transport Canada (formerly the Department of Transport), gave operational control of the airport to the Victoria Airport Authority.

In 2000, the Victoria Airport Authority began the process of renovating and expanding the terminal to meet passenger needs. In 2002, the new "airside hold room" and the new "arrivals rotunda" were rebuilt. By 2005, the new "departures area" was completed.

In May 2005, the federal government, which owns the land, announced a reduction in the rent paid by the Victoria Airport Authority. This will save $0.6 million Canadian each year and $12 million CAD over the life of the lease, which is 50 years.

In September 2018, United Airlines announced that the daily United Express flight from Victoria to San Francisco would permanently end on 07 January 2019, concluding over a decade of daily non-stop service between the two cities.[7]

Terminal

Departure/Check-in area
Domestic Baggage Claim Area
Twin Otter 400, first test flight
Delta Connection (Skywest), Air Canada Express (Jazz), United Express (Skywest) and Pacific Coastal Airlines aircraft parked at Victoria International Airport in August 2017.

The main terminal has nine gates, organized as gates 1–2 and 4–10. Gates 1,2 and 9,10 are equipped with aircraft loading bridges.

Gates 1,2,5 and 6 are used to handle international passenger arrivals.

There are three luggage carousels: two located at the arrivals area for domestic passengers, and one for international flights located inside the customs area.

As of December 1, 2010,[8] time limited, ad supported[9] Wi-Fi internet service provided by Telus is available terminal wide.[10]

Airlines and destinations

Air Canada Rouge Boeing 767-300 at Victoria (CYYJ), July 2017.

Nearly all commercial flights at Victoria fly to domestic airports or to destinations in the United States. Seasonal scheduled flights by Air Transat, Sunwing Airlines, and WestJet also connect Victoria to tourist destinations in Mexico. For the Summer 2017 season, Air Canada operated wide-body Boeing 767s on its daily flights to Toronto.[11]

Passenger

AirlinesDestinations
Air Canada Express Calgary, Vancouver
Seasonal: Edmonton
Air Canada Rouge Toronto–Pearson
Seasonal: Montréal–Trudeau
Air North Kelowna, Whitehorse
Air Transat Seasonal: Cancún, Puerto Vallarta
Alaska Airlines Seattle/Tacoma
Delta Connection Seattle/Tacoma
Flair Airlines Seasonal: Edmonton
Island Express Air Abbotsford, Nanaimo
NorthStar Air Tours Eastsound, Friday Harbor
Pacific Coastal Airlines Kelowna, Prince George, Vancouver
Sunwing Airlines Seasonal: Huatulco (begins November 6, 2018),[12] Puerto Vallarta, San José del Cabo
United Express San Francisco (ends January 6, 2019)[13]
WestJet Calgary, Edmonton
Seasonal: Cancún, Puerto Vallarta, Toronto–Pearson
WestJet Encore Calgary, Edmonton, Kelowna, Vancouver

Cargo

AirlinesDestinations
Federal Express Vancouver
KF Cargo Vancouver
Morningstar Air Express Vancouver
Purolator Vancouver
SkyLink Express Vancouver

Statistics

Annual traffic

Annual Passenger Traffic[14][15]
Year Passengers % Change
2010 1,514,713 Steady
2011 1,499,792 Decrease -1%
2012 1,504,024 Increase 0.3%
2013 1,556,960 Increase 3.4%
2014 1,650,904 Increase 6.0%
2015 1,710,825 Increase 3.6%
2016 1,856,421 Increase 8.5%
2017 1,934,842 Increase 4.2%

Future development plans

Victoria Airport Authority's 2008 master plan laid out a timeline of proposed changes to the airport.[16]

Year 1–5

An Air Canada Airbus A321 taxiing for takeoff from Victoria to Toronto, August 2017
  • Full parallel taxiway E to runway 09/27. (Completed)
  • New taxiway exit from runway 09 to taxiway S. (Completed)
  • New maintenance facility and fire hall on the west side of the airport. (Completed)[17]
  • First phase of apron IV expansion to accommodate interim demand. (Completed)
  • Extend approach lighting on runway 27 by 320 m (1,050 ft).
  • Additional terminal building public parking. (Completed)
  • Construct a bicycle/walking path around the perimeter of the airport property. (Completed)
  • Add two new passenger loading bridges. (Completed)
  • New military hangar to store new Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) Sikorsky CH-148 Cyclone helicopters. (Completed)
  • Runway 09/27 and thresholds of taxiway W, S, G, and E on both sides and parts of runways 21/02 and 14/32. (Completed)

Year 6–10

  • Upgrading of approach lighting on runway 09.
  • Decommission taxiway D.
  • Apron IV expansion to the north.
  • New taxiway from apron IV to runway 02/20.
  • Construct a new general aviation taxiway.
  • Construct road access from Mills Road.
  • Realign Willingdon Road to accommodate additional terminal building parking.
  • First phase of terminal expansion (upper level hold room and two additional loading bridges).

Year 11–20

Flight training

There are several organisations that offer flight training at the airport:

  • Ocean Air Floatplanes (charter service, tours, float plane training using Cessna 180H)
  • Victoria Flying Club (small prop aircraft training, charter service, float plane, Multi-Engine IFR Training, Red Bird Simulator)
  • Pacific Sky Aviation (Formerly Juan Air - training with turbo prop and floatplanes)
  • Discovery West Aviation (charter service, sightseeing tours, and training)
  • Compass West Aviation (advanced flight training with turbo prop aircraft using Redbird FMX)
  • Royal Canadian Air Cadets (glider and powered flight lessons, aviation simulator)

Transportation to the airport

Victoria International Airport is 22 km from downtown Victoria.

It is served by a direct shuttle bus service, YYJ Airport Shuttle, to and from downtown and hotels, and by taxis (Yellow Cab).

BC Transit routes 87 and 88 make connections to the airport[18]. Passengers using BC Transit can connect with intercity (Greyhound Bus Lines, IslandLink Bus, or Tofino Bus Services) and regional coach service (Pacific Coach Lines) in Victoria.

By car, the airport is normally a 20-minute drive from downtown Victoria (with little or no traffic, and a 40-minute drive with traffic) via Highway 17. The airport has short term and long term/daily parking lots next to the terminal with an additional overflow lot. Rental lot is located to the southwest of the terminal building.

A new interchange at Highway 17 and McTavish Road, the main highway access point to the airport, was completed in April 2011. Funding for the interchange was shared between the federal, provincial governments and Victoria Airport Authority.[19]

Fire and rescue

Victoria International Airport Fire and Rescue operates three crash tenders and one support vehicle to deal with emergencies at the airport. The current station (Airport Fire Service and Airport Operations) opened in 2010 to replace the former station dating back to World War II.[20]

Fixed-base operations

  • Shell Aerocentre
  • Vancouver Island Helicopters (VIH)
  • Viking Air

See also

References

  1. ^ "The page has moved". Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  2. ^ a b c Canada Flight Supplement. Effective 0901Z 16 July 2020 to 0901Z 10 September 2020.
  3. ^ Synoptic/Metstat Station Information Archived June 28, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ a b c "Victoria Airport Authority Facts & Stats". Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  5. ^ "Victoria International Airport". Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  6. ^ British Columbia Aviation Museum Archived March 6, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ Wilson, Carla. "United Airlines axing Victoria-San Francisco flight". Times Colonist. Retrieved 2018-09-17.
  8. ^ Victoria International Airport (YYJ) - Free Wireless Internet Arrives! - News. Victoriaairport.com (2010-12-01). Retrieved on 2013-07-12.
  9. ^ Victoria Airport partners with BOLDstreet. Wings Magazine (2011-01-31). Retrieved on 2013-07-12.
  10. ^ Victoria International Airport (YYJ) - Services & Facilities. Victoriaairport.com. Retrieved on 2013-07-12.
  11. ^ "Air Canada to offer daily Victoria-Toronto flights on Boeing 767". Vancouver Island. 2017-02-15. Retrieved 2017-07-10.
  12. ^ "Sunwing expands flight options from Victoria to offer three destinations for the first time this winter" (Press release). Sunwing Vacations Inc. July 16, 2018. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
  13. ^ "United Airlines ends Victoria service in Jan 2019". RoutesOnline. September 4, 2018. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  14. ^ Victoriaairport. "Statistics" (PDF).
  15. ^ (YYJ) - News. "Victoria International Airport". www.victoriaairport.com.
  16. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 6, 2012. Retrieved August 2, 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  17. ^ Victoria International Airport (YYJ) - VAA Board Authorizes Construction of New Airport Fire Hall/Maintenance Building. Victoriaairport.com. Retrieved on 2013-07-12.
  18. ^ "BC Transit will offer more frequent service to Victoria International Airport". Victoria Buzz. 2018-08-20. Retrieved 2018-09-24.
  19. ^ BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure McTavish Interchange Project Archived December 13, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  20. ^ "Victoria International Airport". Retrieved 10 August 2015.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Victoria International Airport.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Victoria_International_Airport&oldid=861030986"