Businesses moved a record 339,000 tonnes of goods via air freight through Vancouver International Airport (YVR) in 2024, setting a record, according to the Vancouver Airport Authority (VAA), which runs the facility.
The volume is about seven per cent more than the 316,000 tonnes that businesses moved on planes out of the airport in 2023, and it surpassed the airport's 338,000-tonnne previous record set in 2018.
Passenger counts also soared last year.
The VAA said 26.2 million passengers either boarded or disembarked planes at the airport in 2024. That is the second-highest total in its history, after the 26,379,870 passengers who either boarded or disembarked planes at the airport in 2019. The VAA has so far only released a rounded-off number for passengers last year.
It said in a news release that its passenger count last year was about five per cent higher than in 2023, when there were 24,937,282 people who either boarded or disembarked planes at the airport.
The VAA called the higher passenger count "a testament to YVR’s domestic and international connectivity, and continuous work with airlines and tourism and business organizations to strengthen its position as a global hub."
Passenger growth was highest on international flights to and from places outside the U.S., at 10.4 per cent, although there was also strong growth in passenger counts on flights to and from the U.S., at 9.7 per cent.
Domestic travel saw marginal 0.3-per-cent passenger growth, according to the VAA.
YVR is Canada's second-busiest airport, after Toronto Pearson International Airport. The VAA counted 51 airlines flying out of the airport, to 120 destinations.
It estimated that the airport’s contribution to Canada’s GDP is approximately $15 billion annually and that there are about 400 people who work at the airport.
“With our continued focus on increasing accessibility, investing in innovation and building towards a future as an intermodal transportation hub, we are further strengthening YVR’s position as critical supply chain infrastructure supporting local and global connectivity,” said VAA's CEO Tamara Vrooman.
