New initiatives, review underway at Vancouver International Airport after chaotic holiday season travel

This past holiday season, travellers at Vancouver International Airport (YVR) experienced a bunch of travel disruptions, including delayed and cancelled flights due to the weather.

In response to the chaos, the airport is launching a series of initiatives to make operations smoother.

Tamara Vrooman, president and CEO at Vancouver Airport Authority, issued a statement on Thursday outlining these measures.

Statement from YVR President & CEO Tamara Vrooman outlining series of initiatives in response to travel disruption during 2022 holiday season. https://t.co/0mcDpLhxMI pic.twitter.com/2dJvov6li2

— YVR (@yvrairport) January 12, 2023

“We recognize that this past holiday season was tough on travellers, their friends, and families,” Vrooman admitted.

“We have seen that the systems and processes our airport community has relied on for decades must be improved given the realities our industry has experienced post-pandemic along with increasing climate-related weather events.”

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Initial measures have been taken to avoid what happened during the 2022 holiday season. YVR says this includes bettering communication and coordination with airlines around gating, towing, and communication with passengers.

But most importantly, an enhanced after-action review is in order and will include feedback from airlines, partners, employees, and suppliers. It starts next week.

Leading accounting firm KPMG and global aviation planning and advisory firm Arup will also help out in this review to ensure

“These initiatives and learnings will inform continued improvements at YVR and allow the airport to work across the aviation ecosystem to enhance the overall travel experience for passengers,” Vrooman reassured.

She also praised the nearly 26,000 employees at YVR for being “resilient, creative, and empathetic” throughout the aviation industry’s slow recovery from the pandemic.

Further information will be available soon on YVR.ca.