Airport · YVR
Vancouver International Airport
Vancouver, Canada
Shawn from Airdrie, Canada — CC BY-SA 2.0
IATA
YVR
ICAO
CYVR
Continent
North America
Country
Canada
Transport
Getting To & From Vancouver International Airport
The Canada Line SkyTrain provides rapid rail transit linking YVR directly to downtown Vancouver in under 30 minutes, and to Richmond in roughly 18 minutes. Trains pull into the station centrally located between the International and Domestic Terminals on Level 4. All trips originating from the airport are subject to an additional YVR Airport AddFare in addition to standard zone pricing. Taxis operate on fixed-rate zones to downtown Vancouver, while rideshare services like Uber and Lyft pick up passengers on Level 2 of the arrivals areas.
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Terminals & Getting Around
Terminals
Vancouver International Airport consists of a unified Main Terminal divided into Domestic, International, and U.S. Transborder sections, alongside a separate South Terminal handling regional and floatplane operations. Because the Domestic and International buildings are fully integrated within a single main structure, transfers between them are entirely airside and typically require only a 5 to 15-minute walk.
Hours of Operation
YVR operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for passenger and cargo flights. While landside areas remain accessible overnight, secure airside security checkpoints generally close after the final departures and reopen around 4:30 AM.
Know Before You Go
Practical Tips
- Allocate at least two hours ahead of domestic departures and three hours for U.S. and international flights, keeping in mind that U.S.-bound passengers clear U.S. Customs and Border Protection on-site prior to departure.
- Check minimum connection times carefully when booking itineraries; standard airline domestic-to-international transfers at YVR require roughly 40 to 60 minutes, while U.S. transborder connections require over an hour.
- International travelers transiting through Canada should verify whether they require an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) or a Canadian transit visa depending on their passport nationality.
- Take advantage of free terminal Wi-Fi and extensive seating areas if you have an extended layover, or look into the landside hotel located directly within the International Terminal structure if you need uninterrupted rest.
Sources: Vancouver International Airport (YVR), TransLink Public Transit, Sleeping in Airports - YVR Guide