B.C. Ferries, YVR expect busy Canada Day long weekend

Officials with B.C. Ferries and Vancouver International Airport (YVR) say travellers should be ready for a busy Canada Day weekend.

Passengers looking to take one of B.C. Ferries' busiest routes this long weekend should not drive on unless they have a reservation, the corporation said Wednesday.

A statement said there will be eight fewer daily sailings between Tsawwassen and Swartz Bay than originally planned between Wednesday and Monday because one of the ships needs repair.

Around 6,600 reservations have been moved to different sailings, according to B.C. Ferries spokesperson Deborah Marshall. 

"It means that everybody who made a booking will travel just fine," Marshall said.

"We have moved some of those customers to maybe a sailing an hour earlier or a sailing an hour later, but the biggest impact will be for customers who travel as standby."

Customers who arrive without a booking face multiple-sailing waits on the Tsawwassen-Swartz Bay route, Marshall said. Those without a reservation should consider travelling on the ferry as a foot passenger if possible.

As of 4 p.m. Friday, there is no more room for vehicles on sailings from Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver to Departure Bay in Nanaimo, according to a Tweet from B.C. Ferries.

Technical difficulties Friday afternoon are also preventing customers from reserving any sailings this weekend and in the future.

The B.C. Ferries website was down from about 12:45 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., according to tweets by the corporation, and the reservation function was still not working as of 4:30 p.m.

"We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your patience while we address the matter," B.C. Ferries Tweeted around 3:30 p.m.

Around 500,000 customers and 180,000 vehicles are expected to travel on B.C. Ferries over the long weekend, Marshall said.

YVR also busy

Andy Margolis, YVR's chief operations officer, says the airport is expected to see just under 80,000 passengers for each day of the long weekend with Friday being the busiest day due to additional cruise ships in port. 

YVR notes that digital tools are in place to streamline passengers' journey through the airport. 

Travellers within Canada and to the U.S can use YVR Express to book a time to enter security screening.

U.S.-bound passengers can use the mobile passport control app from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency. It allows travellers to fill out their customs declarations and passport info, leading to shorter wait-times when they arrive.

The ArriveCAN app — which is no longer required to enter Canada after public health measures were dropped — serves a similar purpose for those returning to Canada.

YVR's website provides reports on operational performance, with updated data on baggage delivery, on-time performance, and security screening wait times.

The airport has also increased staff across the operation and in the terminal to meet demand during peak times, Margolis says.

He adds YVR is expected to see a million more passengers from July to September this year than during the same time period in 2022. Top destinations include Toronto, Calgary, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Delhi, London, and Hong Kong.

Margolis says they are seeing a strong return to travel in domestic markets as well as to and from the U.S. while international markets are taking longer to return. 

"Overall by the end of year, we're not quite back to pre-pandemic volumes overall, but in peak periods — in that domestic increase and U.S. increase — we are seeing our peak periods busier now than we were in 2019," Margolis said.