Victoria International Airport (IATA: YYJ, ICAO: CYYJ) serves Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It is 12 nautical miles (22 km; 14 mi) north northwest[2] of Victoria on the Saanich Peninsula, with the bulk of the airport (including the passenger terminal) in North Saanich, and a small portion of the airfield extending into Sidney. The airport is run by the Victoria Airport Authority. YYJ has many nonstop daily flights to Vancouver International Airport (YVR, about 15 minutes), which is a major airport serving many global routes. Additionally, Victoria International has nonstop service to Seattle (SEA), Toronto (YYZ), Montreal (YUL, summer only), Calgary (YYC), Edmonton (YEG), and several smaller cities in British Columbia and Yukon.[5] The airport also has seasonal (late fall to early spring) nonstop service to several Mexican resort destinations.[5] Non-stop service between Victoria and the United States decreased by 50% at the beginning of September 2019 when Delta Airlines permanently ended its three daily flights to Seattle, after which only Alaska Airlines continued to fly the route.[6]
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.[2] YYJ does not have United States customs and border preclearance, but many passengers fly first to Vancouver International Airport (YVR), which does have U.S. preclearance.
In 2023, YYJ served 1,740,107[4] passengers and had 108,034[4] aircraft movements, making it Canada's 11th busiest airport in terms of passengers. It was British Columbia's third busiest airport in terms of passengers and aircraft movements.
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.[7] 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.[8] During the early part of WWII (1940 - 1941), the airfield was used as Royal Air Force Station Patricia Bay, for training personnel for basic flying training, preparatory to returning them to the UK.
In approximately 1942 the aerodrome was listed as RCAF Aerodrome - Patricia Bay, British Columbia at 48°39′N123°26′W / 48.650°N 123.433°W / 48.650; -123.433 with a variation of 24 degrees east and elevation of 25 ft (7.6 m). The aerodrome was listed with three runways as follows:
[9]
Runway name
Length
Width
Surface
13/31
5,000 ft (1,500 m)
200 ft (61 m)
Hard surfaced
8/26
5,000 ft (1,500 m)
200 ft (61 m)
Hard surfaced
2/20
5,000 ft (1,500 m)
200 ft (61 m)
Hard surfaced
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.[citation needed]
In 1959, the airport was renamed the "Victoria International Airport".
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.[citation needed]
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.
A United ExpressCRJ200 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 Canadian each year and $12 million CAD over the life of the lease, which is 50 years.[citation needed]
In July 2016, Westjet Airlines announced that they would be permanently ending service to Honolulu from Victoria. The non-stop route had started in 2009 and had ended due to the lack of demand.[10]
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.[11]
In March 2019, Delta Air Lines announced that all Delta flights from Victoria to Seattle would permanently end on September 2, 2019,[6] concluding a three-year presence by the airline in Victoria and leaving Alaska Airlines as the only airline serving Victoria directly from Seattle or anywhere in the United States. Delta was the second airline to leave Victoria that year, after United Airlines withdrew service in January 2019.[11]
The main terminal has ten gates, organized as gates 3–4, 5–11, and 12–13. Gates 3-4 and 12-13 are equipped with aircraft loading bridges.[12]
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,[13] time limited, ad supported[14] Wi-Fi internet service provided by Telus is available terminal wide.[15]
Airlines and destinations
Air Canada Rouge Boeing 767-300 at Victoria (CYYJ), July 2017
The Victoria International Airport Master Plan 2023-2024 lays out the long-term development and future plans of the airport.[26] The Master Plan highlights future infrastructure growth for the airport in two phases, 2023-2032 and 2033-2042.
BC Transit routes 87 and 88 make connections to the airport.[27] 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 new 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.[28]
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.[29]
CRJ-200N423SW_YYJDecember2018.jpg)
