YVR US Passenger Traffic Drops 9.1% in October, Marking Tenth Consecutive

Vancouver International Airport (YVR) reported a significant 9.1% year-over-year decrease in passengers on flights to and from the United States in October. This marks the tenth consecutive month of declining US passenger volumes at YVR, a trend potentially influenced by the deteriorating political relationship between the US and Canada.

Despite the ongoing reduction in US traffic, YVR's overall passenger numbers for scheduled flights grew by 6.6% in October, reaching 2,243,765. This growth was primarily fueled by robust increases in domestic and non-US international travel. Domestic flights saw a 9.1% rise, while flights to the Asia Pacific region surged by 19.3%, partly due to China Eastern's resumption of twice-weekly flights in late September. European routes also experienced a healthy 12.7% increase in passenger volume. Airlines such as Air Canada and Flair have responded to these shifts by reallocating capacity from US destinations towards more domestic and other international routes from YVR.

The situation at YVR mirrors broader trends across Canada, according to data released by Statistics Canada. In October, Canadian airports collectively saw a 12% increase in international passenger screenings for destinations outside the US. Conversely, passenger traffic to the US decreased by 8.9% year-over-year for the ninth consecutive month, remaining 5.7% below pre-pandemic October 2019 levels. All eight of Canada's largest airports reported higher overall passenger volumes year-over-year, with Halifax's Robert L. Stanfield International Airport leading with an 8.6% gain.