The Vancouver International Airport’s CEO says the facility is ready for an anticipated winter storm, and promises there will be no repeat of the chaos seen earlier this week.
Tamara Vrooman gave the update Thursday, as the airport works to recover from a Monday night snowstorm that hit the airport, leading to scores of cancellations, congestion both in the terminal and on the airfield, and reports of people stuck in planes on the apron for hours.
Vrooman said Monday and Tuesday’s problems were caused by the volume and speed of snowfall, which was not anticipated in the weather forecast.
“Our snow removal practices worked very well during the event, our de-icing practices worked well. It was just that the accumulation of the snow was such that by the time we de-iced, we had to send the aircraft around to be … de-iced again,” she said.
“We simply could not keep up with the accumulation of snow on an aircraft wing. While we can have a little bit of snow on the roads, and while we can have a little bit of snow on the sidewalks, we simply cannot tolerate any snow of any measure on the wing of an aircraft, or it is not safe to depart … and that led to the congestion.”
While Voorman praised the efforts of airport staff to battle the winter conditions and get passengers moving again, she acknowledged the system had broken down with regards to passengers left stranded in aircraft, some for as long as 12 hours, during the snow “event.”
“We have been able to adjust our gating policies. Certainly the holds we had on aircraft, which means people remaining on an aircraft, unable to get off — which were very, very long — earlier this week (were) unacceptable,” she said.
“That means that just because (an aircraft is) the first in doesn’t mean you get regular access to the gate you get access to …. in these conditions, it must be the priority based on the duration and to get people off planes. We made that change late on Tuesday night, and as a result yesterday we had no holds on aircraft, and we will not tolerate and do not anticipate any holds going forward.”
Flights were steadily coming and going from YVR on Thursday, with about 20 flights lifting off per hour. Vrooman said about 100 flights out of 660 that were scheduled had been cancelled.
A 48 hour cancellation order on international flight arrivals, however, remains in place until Friday morning.
Vrooman said that policy was implemented Wednesday in an effort to clear congestion on the airfield, and that eliminating the wide-bodied planes used for long-haul flights freed up badly needed capacity to break the traffic jam.
“That though meant that countless other aircraft could get moving on the airfield and allowed another about 120,000 passengers over two days to make their flights and for traffic to get moving again at YVR,” she said.
Looking forward the airport is fully focused on preparing for snow and freezing rain expected to arrive as early as Thursday evening, she said.
But she continued to advise travellers to check with both their airline and the YVR website before actually travelling to the airport.
In an interview with Global News earlier Thursday, Vrooman said the airport will be running extra staff for the incoming snowstorm and has purchased extra amounts of de-icing fluid.
When asked why Vrooman was not available for interviews during the week, she said she was busy attending to issues inside the airport.
“I was on site when the snow first started to fall for the first 48 hours. (I was) talking to passengers, helping out the entire executive team, making those operational decisions,”
(I was) also on the floor helping passengers get information, food and get them on their way as quick as possible.”
The airport’s challenges are far from over, and come at the facility’s busiest time of the year. In a bulletin earlier this week, it estimated an average of nearly 65,000 people were expected to pass through the airport per day between Dec. 20 and Jan. 1.
And as the airport tries to catch up on those cancelled and delayed flights, another major incoming winter storm is forecast for Thursday evening.
Late Thursday, WestJet proactively cancelled all flights through YVR, along with the Abbotsford, Victoria, Nanaimo and Comox airports between 11:30 p.m. and late in the afternoon on Friday.
Environment Canada is warning the storm will bring heavy snow, freezing rain and rain on snow or ice.
According to Environment Canada, a Pacific frontal system combined with the cold Arctic airmass over B.C. will bring another round of snow to the South Coast starting Thursday night.
Accumulations of 10 to 20 centimetres are possible, depending on the location.
As the freezing level rises, the snow will then change to rain later Friday over Vancouver Island and Friday night or Saturday morning over the mainland. Freezing rain is also possible during the transition.
The storm could create blowing snow, which could result in near-zero visibility.
Environment Canada said the exact precipitation amount and timing of the changeover to rain is still uncertain but it appears the combination of “impactful weather” will begin early on Friday.
The winter storm watch is in effect for: east Vancouver Island, the Fraser Valley, Greater Victoria, the Malahat between Goldstream and Mill Bay, Howe Sound, the Sea to Sky region from Squamish to Whistler, inland Vancouver Island, Metro Vancouver, the southern Gulf Islands, the Sunshine Coast, west Vancouver Island and Whistler.
The airport said it’s doing everything in its power to prepare for more severe weather Thursday and pledges to provide detailed information before the system arrives.
“With a winter storm watch in effect, crews are also working to prepare for increased snow and frozen rain conditions in the coming days which will impact flights,” YVR staff said.
“Passengers should expect delays and cancellations as a result of the incoming weather system. We are actively working with airline partners to provide a clear picture of the schedule for the next 24 hours.”
— With files from Global News’ Amy Judd