Vancouver airport gets new wing

Zoomer | January 1st, 2006

Vancouver International Airport is looking better than ever these days, with the opening of a $120 million new concourse designed to serve the international market. Following the lead of the rest of the facility, the new concourse is decorated with original native art and landscape works to make that waiting time as pleasant as possible. Arrive at the new wing and you’ll be greeted by indigenous trees, a water course with a large dug-out canoe and a huge Thunderbird wood sculpture, suspended from the ceiling.

The concourse adds seven gates to the airport and will be used for trans-border flights in the morning and flights to Asia in the afternoon. Anticipating the next generation of double-decker airplanes which are now on the drawing boards, the gates have been designed and built to accommodate the two-level super airliners.

While those travelling through Vancouver are very familiar with paying between five and fifteen dollars to the Airport Improvement Fund, officials are quick to point out that none of your money (well, not directly) is being used to pay for the new concourse. In fact, the wing came in at $27-million under budget and is being paid for through theirport’s capital budget. More than 10,000 visitors recently toured the new wing before its official opening.