Victoria International Airport serves Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It is north northwest The airport also has seasonal (late fall to early spring) non-stop service to several Mexican resort destinations.

Victoria International Airport is classified as an airport of entry by Nav Canada and is staffed by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). CBSA officers at this airport can handle aircraft with no more than 450 passengers, when unloaded from the aircraft in stages, or 120 normally.

Like most airports that are run by local authorities in Canada, YYJ charges an airport improvement fee for each outgoing passenger. As of April 2024, it was $25.00 per departing passenger. AIF fees are usually added to fares and collected automatically by most airlines.

History

The airport started in 1939 as a grass strip, and was used as a military training airfield. During the early part of World War II (1940–1941), the airfield was used as Royal Air Force Station Patricia Bay, providing basic flight training for Royal Air Force pilots preparatory to returning them to the UK.

In approximately 1942 the aerodrome became a Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) installation listed as RCAF Aerodrome - Patricia Bay, British Columbia at with a variation of 24 degrees east and elevation of . The aerodrome was listed with three runways as follows:

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The airport is located beside Patricia Bay, which, due to the prevalence of flying boats at the time, proved to be an excellent location. The Department of Transport took over the airport in 1948. It was then called Victoria (Patricia Bay) Airport, and many locals still refer to it as the "Pat Bay Airport". Trans-Canada Airlines (later Air Canada) began regular service in 1943.

In 1959, the airport was renamed the "Victoria International Airport".

The last RCAF unit left the airport in 1952. In July 1989, Canadian Forces Air Command returned to Victoria International Airport when HS 443 Squadron, which operated CH-124 Sea King ship-borne anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopters, was relocated from CFB Shearwater to better support Canadian Forces Maritime Command operations in the Pacific. In 1995, the squadron was redesignated as 443 Maritime Helicopter Squadron.

In 1997, as part of a broad scale restructuring of airports across Canada, Transport Canada (formerly the Department of Transport), gave operational control of the airport to the Victoria Airport Authority.

In 2000, the Victoria Airport Authority began the process of renovating and expanding the terminal to meet passenger needs. In 2002, the new airside hold room and the new arrivals rotunda were rebuilt. By 2005, the new departures area was completed.

thumb|A [[United Express CRJ200 at Victoria International Airport a week before service ended]]

In May 2005, the federal government, which owns the land, announced a reduction in the rent paid by the Victoria Airport Authority. This will save $0.6 million each year and $12 million over the life of the lease, which is 50 years.

In 2015, 443 Maritime Helicopter Squadron moved into a new $155 million heliport at the airport, which the RCAF titled Arundel Castle after the major landmark of that name in West Sussex, the English county where the unit operated when it was a fighter squadron flying the Supermarine Spitfire during World War II. The main mission of 443 Squadron in the 21st century is to provide ASW and logistical support for the Royal Canadian Navy.

In September 2018, United Airlines announced that the daily United Express flight from Victoria to San Francisco would permanently end on January 7, 2019, concluding over a decade of daily non-stop service between the two cities.

In March 2019, Delta Air Lines announced that all Delta flights from Victoria to Seattle would permanently end on September 2, 2019,

thumb|Air North Boeing 737-500 at the gate in Victoria

There are three luggage carousels: two located at the arrivals area for domestic passengers, and one for international flights located inside the customs area.

As of December 1, 2010, time limited, ad supported Wi-Fi internet service provided by Telus is available terminal wide.

Airlines and destinations

thumb|Air Canada Rouge Boeing 767-300 at Victoria (CYYJ), July 2017

Most commercial flights at Victoria fly either to airports in nearby British Columbia and Alberta or to western Washington. Seasonal scheduled flights by WestJet connect Victoria to tourist destinations in Mexico. For the Summer 2017 season, Air Canada Rouge operated wide-body Boeing 767s on its daily flights to Toronto.

Passenger

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Statistics

Annual traffic

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|+ Annual passenger traffic The Master Plan highlights future infrastructure growth for the airport in two phases, 2023–2032 and 2033–2042.

2023–2032

thumb|[[WestJet primarily flies their Boeing 737 Next Generation aircraft to Calgary and Edmonton from Victoria]]

Airfield

  • Runway end safety areas
  • Enhanced taxiway filets for larger aircraft
  • Apron IV expansion to support demand growth
  • Upgrade Runway 09 approach lighting to CAT I SSALR
  • Runway 09-27 extension would provide a greater safety buffer for long haul flights to potential future international destinations

Terminal

  • Eastern expansion to support demand growth for aircraft gates, check-in area, outbound baggage system and offices
  • Western expansion to support demand growth for aircraft gates, international/CBSA facilities, and inbound baggage system
  • Central expansion to support demand growth for pre-board screening

Landside

  • Expanded Electra Boulevard and development of a roundabout at the new intersection with Willingdon Avenue
  • Parking expansion at the terminal building to support demand growth
  • Ongoing improvement to the recreational path and supporting areas

Commercial

  • Leasing of commercial lots that are readily available
  • Improvements to infrastructure to make additional lots available as required by demand

2033–2042

Airfield

  • Apron IV expansion to support demand growth
  • Closure of Runway 03-21 to enable growth of the terminal building and Apron IV
  • Northern taxiway development to support demand for airside commercial lots

Terminal

  • Western expansion to support demand growth for aircraft gates

Landside

  • Parking expansion at the terminal building to support demand growth
  • Ongoing improvement to the recreational path and supporting areas

Commercial

  • Increased land availability due to closure of Runway 03-21
  • Leasing of commercial lots that are readily available
  • Improvements to infrastructure to make additional lots available as required by demand

Flight training

There are several organisations that offer flight training at the airport:

  • Ocean Air Floatplanes (charter service, tours, float plane training using Cessna 180H)
  • Victoria Flying Club (small prop aircraft training, charter service, float plane, Multi-engine IFR Training, Red Bird Simulator)
  • Royal Canadian Air Cadets

Ground transport

Victoria International Airport is 22&nbsp;km from downtown Victoria.

It is served by taxi (Yellow Cab).

BC Transit routes 87 and 88 make connections to the airport. Passengers using BC Transit can connect with intercity bus service in Victoria.

By car, the airport is normally a 20-minute drive from downtown Victoria (with little or no traffic, and a 40-minute drive with traffic) via Highway 17.

The airport has short term and long term/daily parking lots next to the terminal with an additional overflow lot. Rental lot is located to the southwest of the terminal building.

A interchange at Highway 17 and McTavish Road, the main highway access point to the airport, was completed in April 2011. Funding for the interchange was shared between the federal, provincial governments and Victoria Airport Authority.

Fire and rescue

Victoria International Airport Fire and Rescue operates three crash tenders and one support vehicle to deal with emergencies at the airport. The current station (Airport Fire Service and Airport Operations) opened in 2010 to replace the former station dating back to World War II.

Fixed-base operations

  • Shell Aerocentre
  • Vancouver Island Helicopters (VIH)
  • Viking Air

See also

  • British Columbia Aviation Museum
  • List of airports in Greater Victoria
  • Victoria Airport Water Aerodrome, adjacent to Victoria International Airport, seaplanes only
  • Victoria Harbour (Camel Point) Heliport, helicopters only, adjacent to cruise ship terminal near downtown Victoria
  • Victoria Inner Harbour Airport, downtown Victoria, seaplanes only

Notes

References

  • Victoria International Airport (official site)
  • Victoria International Airport on COPA's Places to Fly airport directory

Onsite operators

  • Victoria (CYYJ) Shell Aerocentre private aircraft, private jet charters.
  • VIH Aviation Group, helicopter services, private jet charters.
  • Viking Air De Havilland, firefighting, aerial surveillance.