Outdoor atrium in YVR Airport's new terminal building to open this summer

Outdoor atrium in Vancouver International Airport's new terminal building expansion to open this summer

The outdoor atrium of Pier D international wing at Vancouver International Airport, as of June 3, 2023. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Vancouver International Airport’s (YVR) new Pier D international terminal building expansion has been operational for a full year, since June 2022.

The centrepiece of the impressive expansion is the opportunity for departing passengers to get a breath of fresh air while waiting for their international flight.

A one-of-a-kind, glass-walled outdoor enclosure simulates the natural outdoors of British Columbia, with the opening in the roof exposing real tall trees and a coastal-simulated environment to weather.

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But as it turns out, this outdoor space well after security has never been open to passengers.

YVR spokesperson Megan Sutton told Daily Hive Urbanized they identified some “operational considerations” in the atrium that required addressing before opening the outdoor space to passengers. To date, the glass door to access this outdoor space has been locked.

They are now planning to open the outdoor atrium later this summer.

vancouver international airport yvr pier d expansion

The enclosed outdoor space in the atrium of the Pier D expansion of Vancouver International Airport. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

vancouver international airport yvr pier d outdoor atrium

The outdoor atrium of Pier D international wing at Vancouver International Airport, as of June 3, 2023. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

With Pier D space now seeing some good use, with a steady flow of passengers and aircraft docking with the jet bridges daily, the airport authority is also looking to fill in and open the various retail and restaurant units that were built into the expansion.

Sutton says retailer Deepwater Spirit opened in Pier D just last week, and a future restaurant next to the atrium will feature a bar and lounging area.

The future restaurant space in the atrium of the Pier D expansion of Vancouver International Airport. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

The $300 million, 300,000 sq ft Pier D expansion was originally set to open in Summer 2020, but construction was paused in March 2020 due to the onset of the pandemic. The expansion reached completion in early 2021 after construction resumed in August 2020, but the use and opening of the added space was delayed, given the depressed demand at the time.

Pier D provides YVR with four double bridge gates to accommodate larger planes, four bus gates (accessible from ground level), and ample new amenities, including more retail and restaurant space. It is YVR’s single largest terminal building expansion since the modernization of the airport in 1996.

YVR ended 2022 with a recovery of 19 million passengers, and it is forecasting 22 million passengers for its total in 2023.

The latest final and complete statistics for YVR’s performance are for April 2023, which shows the airport recorded a total of 1.905 million passengers over the course of the month — just shy of the 2.03 million in pre-pandemic April 2019. This includes 472,582 non-US international passengers, which is beginning to narrow the pre-pandemic gap from 566,786 in April 2019, especially with growing volumes from YVR’s major market to Asian destinations.

Check out this time-lapse video tour of the newly opened Pier D international terminal expansion of Vancouver International Airport!

It’s a stunning addition with ample new amenities, including a walkable outdoor space. ✈️ @YVRAirport #YVR #aviation https://t.co/Bc22F2GpXU pic.twitter.com/mqnPmgeOhb

— Kenneth Chan (@iamkennethchan) June 14, 2022

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