Vancouver International Airport preps for return of passengers with new safety protocols
Face coverings mandatory and only valid ticket holders allowed entry
Vancouver International Airport is launching enhanced health, safety and cleaning protocols to help travellers move through the airport safely once travel restrictions due to COVID-19 are eased.
The program, dubbed YVR TAKEcare brings a variety of new preventative measures — like electrostatic disinfectant sprayers and plexiglass barriers — to provide a touchless and physically distanced in-terminal experience for passengers, where possible.
"Our goal is to create a frictionless travel experience from curb to cloud," said Robyn McVicker, YVR's vice-president of operations and maintenance. "While we don't know what the future will bring. We do know people will travel again."
The new measures include:
- Temperature screening.
- Mandatory use of non-medical masks or face coverings at all times while in the public areas of the terminal.
- Allowing only employees and travellers with a valid ticket inside YVR.
- Installing plexiglass at counters.
- Increasing cleaning across all high-touch areas.
- Providing additional hand sanitizer throughout the airport.
- Displaying clear physical distancing signage throughout.
- Placing TAKEcare team members at key locations throughout the airport.
COVID spread through travel
The volume and interconnectedness of global travel is widely seen as one of the main factors behind the rapid spread of COVID-19 around the world.
Last Friday, Ottawa announced mandatory temperature screening for all passengers arriving into Canada starting at the end of June, and for all departing passengers at the end of July.
"It is not the panacea," said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. "It is an extra layer of safety."
90% decline in travel
YVR saw approximately 5,000 travellers, mostly domestic, move through the airport Wednesday, down from about 75,000 people on a typical day in June 2019.
McVicker said overall travel through the airport is down 90 per cent and that arriving international flights are mostly empty.
The Canada-U.S. border remains closed to non-essential travel to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus as confirmed cases in the United States continue to climb past the 2.2 million mark. Canada now has just over 100,000 confirmed COVID cases.
Last week the federal government announced it will now allow some immediate family members in the U.S. separated by the temporary COVID-19 travel restrictions to cross the border into Canada.
During regular travel, the most popular destinations from YVR are Toronto, Calgary and Edmonton followed by Los Angeles, Victoria and Hong Kong, according to YVR.