YVR Airport customs hall divides vaccinated and unvaccinated passengers

Vancouver International Airport (YVR) is going to look a little different the next time you catch a flight, and it’ll apparently matter whether you’re vaccinated or not.

A picture that circulated on social media earlier this week showed two lineups, one for vaccinated passengers and one for unvaccinated passengers, at the customs hall.

A YVR spokesperson has confirmed to Daily Hive Urbanized that the picture is legitimate.

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The decision was made to align with a Transport Canada protocol that the spokesperson suggested would be instituted in other airports in the country.

“The health and safety of our passengers, employees and airport community is our top priority. We continue to follow the direction and guidance of government as well as provincial and federal health authorities to implement its risk-based and measured approach to reopening our borders for travel and tourism,” said the spokesperson.

“We recognize that the travel experience now looks different and are committed to keeping our passengers informed about what to expect when travelling through YVR.”

It remains to be seen how this will impact passengers as travel begins to pick up, and what sort of public support Vancouver Airport will receive for this change.

“Under direction of the Government of Canada, passengers entering Canada from the US or another international destination are being split into vaccinated and non/partially-vaccinated queues prior to reaching Canada Customs. This measure is in place per government policy to help streamline the border clearance process as there are different entry requirements for vaccinated and non/partially-vaccinated travellers,” the spokesperson added.

Daily Hive Urbanized has reached out to Transport Canada and the CBSA for further comment.