Vancouver International Airport expects record passenger volumes this summer | Daily Hive

U.S. transborder terminal of Vancouver International Airport. (Adam Melnyk/Shutterstock)

Summer 2025 is expected to be the busiest on record for Vancouver International Airport (YVR), with a forecasted all-time high in passenger volumes over the season.

In a bulletin today, Vancouver Airport Authority expects about 6.724 million passengers over the period between June 15 and Sept. 2, marking a four per cent increase over the same period in 2024 and a one per cent uptick compared to the all-time record year of 2019.

This includes 3.287 million domestic passengers (49 per cent), 1.849 million U.S. passengers (27 per cent), and 1.588 million non-U.S. international passengers (24 per cent).

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It is anticipated that an average of 85,000 passengers will travel through YVR on a daily basis over this summer period, with Fridays usually being the busiest day. One of the busiest days will be Friday, Aug. 8, when over 91,000 passengers are forecast to pass through the airport.

This upcoming extended Canada Day weekend, spanning Friday, June 27, to Tuesday, July 1, will see 425,000 passengers, including 87,000 on Friday and 88,000 on Monday.

The airport authority also notes the busiest routes for passengers departing YVR this summer will be to Toronto (398,000 passengers), which is not surprising as it is North America’s busiest domestic route, followed by routes to Calgary (330,000 passengers), Edmonton (191,000 passengers), and Montreal (125,000 passengers).

San Francisco (117,000 passengers) is the fifth busiest destination for departing passengers, followed by Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Seattle, Winnipeg, and Kelowna.

With political and trade tensions, passenger volumes reaching U.S. destinations have steadily fallen this spring, and this is expected to be more pronounced as the summer progresses. It also remains to be seen how the weakening economy and renewed inflation could impact consumer spending and travel.

The latest available full official passenger statistics for YVR show a nine per cent year-over-year drop in U.S. passenger volumes in April 2025, while domestic saw a 1.8 per cent increase, Europe saw a 0.6 per cent uptick, and Asia Pacific saw a 17.2 per cent jump.

After significant growth during the initial post-pandemic period, total U.S. passenger volumes at YVR dropped by 2.7 per cent year-over-year in February 2025 and 7.3 per cent year-over-year in March 2025.

In 2024, YVR recorded its second-highest passenger count ever, with 26.2 million passengers passing through the airport — just shy of breaking the all-time record of 26.4 million passengers in 2019.

So far, based on the available official statistics, YVR’s monthly passenger totals for the first four months of 2025 have surpassed those of three of the same months in 2019. The airport authority’s record-breaking summer forecast points to continued strong volumes, and if the current trend holds, it is within the realm of possibility that 2025 could end as the busiest year in YVR’s history for passenger traffic.

The airport authority also shared that this year’s June to September period will also be a busy time for cargo, which is the other important volume variable for airport operations. They expect about 80,000 tonnes of cargo — equivalent to one quarter of YVR’s expected annual total.

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