Vancouver International Airport scraps lineups based on vaccine status

EQRoy/Shutterstock, @BearBullTraders/Twitter

A picture circulating on social media last week showed signs for vaccinated and unvaccinated passengers at the Vancouver International Airport (YVR) customs hall. And now, it seems YVR has changed its mind about this move.

COVID-19-related health restrictions and guidance have been a divisive topic since the beginning of the pandemic, and this was no exception.

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New lines at Vancouver airport @yvrairport pic.twitter.com/yXBE7Bzl4s

— Andrew Aziz (@BearBullTraders) July 21, 2021

A YVR spokesperson confirmed the change in a statement to Daily Hive Urbanized.

“The health and safety of our passengers, employees, and airport community is our top priority,” said the statement.

“Effectively immediately, passengers entering Canada from the US or another international destination will no longer be separated based on vaccination status prior to reaching Customs.”

The separated lineups were initially introduced to streamline the border clearance processes, as there are different requirements for vaccinated and unvaccinated passengers.

YVR said that the controversial configuration did not achieve their goals of making this process a smoother experience.

“As more vaccinated passengers than expected are entering the country, we need the full use of the customs hall and assets.”

The Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) told Daily Hive Urbanized that decisions of this nature are up to individual airport authorities in consultation with groups like the CBSA or Transport Canada.

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