YVR predicts a decline of up to 1.3M travellers in 2020 amid coronavirus spread
Airport CEO says chilly Canada-China relations, Hong Kong protests and grounded Boeing 737s all factors
As fears over the coronavirus continue to grow across Canada and globally, the Vancouver International Airport is already feeling the impact and preparing for big losses in 2020.
The airport predicts it will see up to 1.3 million fewer travellers passing through its terminals this year, a financial hit for the airport, airlines and businesses that operate inside.
Yet despite the dreary forecast, YVR is still in the midst of a multimillion-dollar expansion to one of its international terminals expected to open later this year.
Right now, there are more than 89,000 cases of coronavirus worldwide and more than 3,000 people have died. In B.C., there are eight cases as of Monday. Combined with 18 cases in Ontario and one in Quebec, Canada has 27 confirmed cases.
Early in the outbreak, major airlines began cancelling flights to certain areas of China. At the end of February, Air Canada announced it would cancel all flights between Canada and mainland China until April.
'It's not going to be a great year': YVR CEO
In 2019, YVR welcomed a record of 26.4 million passengers, including travellers on connecting flights, according to the airport. And in 2020, YVR expected to see an increase with more than 29 million passengers travelling, eating and shopping at Canada's second-busiest airport.
But instead of record-breaking numbers, it now estimates a drop of up to 5 per cent off the initial passenger forecast.
"It's not going to be a great year," said Craig Richmond, YVR's CEO.
He says there's been a 50 per cent reduction in travel to mainland China through YVR so far in 2020.
And while the coronavirus is playing a big part in the decrease in traffic, it's not the sole cause. Richmond says there were already some headwinds heading into the new year, specifically Canada's chilled relations with China, the riots in Hong Kong and the grounding of Boeing 737 Max 8 jets following last March's Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed all 157 people on board, including 18 Canadians.
But still, Richmond says he's confident YVR can handle the storm.
"We will come out of this when it [the coronavirus] ends and we expect the traffic to come back."
WATCH: YVR CEO Craig Richmond explains how the airport will be impacted economically
Richmond says air travel has grown by up to five per cent every year for the past decade and he expects to reach 30 million passengers travelling through YVR by 2024.
But in the meantime, he predicts the airport will suffer a five to 10 per cent drop in revenue for 2020.
Expanding YVR's Pier D
Amid global air travel slowdowns, Richmond says it's full steam ahead on YVR's latest expansion, Pier D, which is set to open in June.
The expanded international terminal will provide the airport with eight new gates — four with bridge access and four remote bus gates.
"It's not the perfect time to open a new building, but we will have airlines that need those gates," says Richmond, adding that the project was first conceived five years ago.
The expansion comes with a price tag of $300 million; combined with other projects around the airport, Richmond says they are spending about $750 million in construction costs.
And even though the airport is experiencing a slowdown, Richmond believes it's all temporary. He says they are preparing for the future.
"The last ten years, we've grown by 60 per cent."
With files from Mike Killeen