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Kelowna International Airport

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Kelowna International Airport (IATA: YLW, ICAO: CYLW) is a Canadian airport located approximately 10 minutes or 6.2 nautical miles (11.5 km; 7.1 mi) northeast of Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, on Highway 97.

Kelowna International Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerTransport Canada[1]
OperatorCity of Kelowna
ServesKelowna, British Columbia
Time zonePST (UTC−08:00)
 • Summer (DST)PDT (UTC−07:00)
Elevation AMSL1,420 ft / 433 m
Coordinates49°57′26″N 119°22′41″W / 49.95722°N 119.37806°W / 49.95722; -119.37806
Websiteylw.kelowna.ca
Map
CYLW is located in British Columbia
CYLW
CYLW
Location in British Columbia
CYLW is located in Canada
CYLW
CYLW
CYLW (Canada)
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
16/34 9,039 2,755 Asphalt
Statistics (2023)
Total Passengers2,032,624
Sources: Canada Flight Supplement[2]
Environment Canada[3]
Movements from Statistics Canada[4]
Passenger statistics from City of Kelowna[5]

The single runway airport operates scheduled air service to Vancouver, Victoria, Prince George, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Seattle, as well as less frequent seasonal service to Montreal, Cancún, Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos, and Phoenix. Currently, the airport handles up to 36 commercial departures a day, or approximately 248 departures per week. Three major airlines serve the airport: Air Canada, Alaska Airlines, and WestJet.

The service to Montreal is under Air Canada for the winter-portion of the year, and under Air Canada Rouge for the summer-portion of the year.

In 2018, YLW overtook Victoria International Airport to become Canada's 10th busiest airport by passenger traffic with 2,080,372, representing a 9.9% increase over 2017.[5]

History

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In 1946, a plebiscite was held which authorized the city of Kelowna to purchase the 320-acre Dickson Ranch for $20,000.[6] The airport was opened in 1947 with a 3,000 foot long grass airstrip and a small terminal.[6] Commercial service first began in 1958 by Canadian Pacific Airlines to Vancouver.[6] In 1960, the runway was paved and extended to 5,350 feet.[6] Through the 1960s and 1970s the airport continued to be expanded with a new terminal building, an air traffic control tower, and an onsite weather office.[6] From the late 1960s to the mid 1980s, Pacific Western Airlines was the primary passenger air carrier serving the airport with Boeing 737-200 jetliners on nonstop and direct flights between Kelowna and Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver and other small cities in British Columbia with the airline also operating Convair 640 and de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter turboprops as well as Douglas DC-3 and Piper Navajo prop aircraft on regional flights.[7][8] By 1985, Pacific Western had become an all-jet airline and was operating up to sixteen departures a day with the Boeing 737-200 from Kelowna including direct, no change of plane service to Toronto.[9] Throughout the 1980s and 1990s commercial and cargo traffic increased, necessitating more than $10 million of investment in upgrades to the terminal building, runway and airline operating facilities.[6]

In 1996, Greyhound Air was flying daily nonstop service to its hub in Winnipeg with direct one stop service to Hamilton, Ontario, with Boeing 727-200 jetliners operated by local company Kelowna Flightcraft Air Charter (now KF Cargo).[10] Also in 1996, WestJet was operating nonstop Boeing 737-200 jet service to Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia, as well as direct one stop 737 service to Regina.[11]

In 1998, a $20 million expansion program doubled the size of the terminal building, increased parking, and expanded airside facilities to accommodate the projected 1 million passengers by 2011.[6] By 1999, five airlines were serving Kelowna: Air BC with code sharing flights on behalf of Air Canada, Central Mountain Air with code sharing flights also on behalf of Air Canada, Canadian Regional Airlines with code sharing flights including Fokker F28 Fellowship jet service on behalf of Canadian Airlines, Horizon Air with code sharing flights on behalf of Alaska Airlines, and WestJet with the latter air carrier continuing to operate Boeing 737-200 jets on all of its flights at this time.[12]

Terminal facilities

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Interior of the airport terminal's check-in area
 
Departure lounge of the airport

The main terminal building is a full-service facility covering approximately 76,000 sq ft (7,100 m2). There are 10 aircraft loading positions, half of which are fitted with jet bridges. The arrivals area contains three baggage carousels, one of which can be cordoned off to accommodate international/US arrivals (and remaining two for domestic arrivals) and Canadian Customs processing. (The airport has a CATSA pre-board screening area, but not US pre-boarding clearance zone.)

The departure lounge features a wired business centre and complimentary wireless Internet. The airport's focal point is a glass rotunda which contains a fountain and the cylindrical glass sculpture "Escape from Stella Polaris" and Skyway Atrium Lounge. Kelowna Art Gallery operates a satellite site at the airport. A small observation area is located on the mezzanine level.

Airlines and destinations

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Key destinations from the airport are the Pacific Northwest (United States and Canada), Western Canada, Northern Canada, and Eastern Canada, as well as seasonal connections to the Southwestern United States and Mexico

Passenger

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AirlinesDestinations
Air Canada Seasonal: Toronto–Pearson, Montréal–Trudeau, Vancouver
Air Canada Express Calgary, Vancouver
Air Canada Rouge Toronto–Pearson
Seasonal: Montréal–Trudeau
Air North Vancouver, Whitehorse
Alaska Airlines Seattle/Tacoma[13]
Seasonal: Los Angeles (begins December 19, 2024)[14]
Canadian North Charter: Fort McMurray, Kamloops, Vancouver
Central Mountain Air Prince George, Vancouver
Flair Airlines Edmonton
Seasonal: Calgary, Vancouver
North Cariboo Air Charter: Fort St. John, Vancouver, Victoria
Pacific Coastal Airlines Comox,[15] Nanaimo,[16] Prince George,[17] Victoria
WestJet Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto–Pearson,[18] Vancouver
Seasonal: Cancún, Las Vegas, Mazatlán (begins December 13, 2024),[19] Phoenix–Sky Harbor, Puerto Vallarta, San José del Cabo, Winnipeg
WestJet Encore Calgary, Edmonton, Seattle/Tacoma (begins January 17, 2025),[20] Vancouver, Victoria
Seasonal: Regina, Saskatoon
North American passenger destinations map
class=notpageimage|
Destinations from Kelowna International Airport
Red = Year-round destination
Green = Seasonal destination
Blue= Future destination
charter / private flights not included*

Cargo

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AirlinesDestinations
Carson Air[21] Calgary, Kamloops, Vancouver
KF Cargo Kamloops, Vancouver
SkyLink Express Kamloops, Vancouver

Statistics

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Annual traffic

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Annual passenger traffic at YLW airport. See Wikidata query.
Annual passenger traffic[22]
Year Passengers % Change
2010 1,391,807  
2011 1,390,187   0.1%
2012 1,443,997   3.8%
2013 1,504,694   4.2%
2014 1,602,899   6.5%
2015 1,593,606   0.5%
2016 1,732,113   8.7%
2017 1,893,470   9.3%
2018 2,080,372   9.9%
2019 2,032,144   2.3%
2020 737,447   63.7%
2021 829,804   12.5%
2022 1,718,059   107.0%
2023 2,032,624   18.3%

Ground transportation

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Cars, buses and taxis can connect to the airport for Kelowna via Highway 97. The airport has an outdoor parking lot next to the terminal and some short term spaces near the terminal building.

Public transit

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The airport is serviced by Kelowna Regional Route 23 and Vernon Regional Route 90 (rush hour service only) buses, which connect Vernon and Lake Country with UBC Okanagan Exchange in Kelowna. The airport is not served by the bus on evenings and weekends.[23] Passengers heading to downtown Kelowna or West Kelowna can transfer to 97X Kelowna RapidBus at UBC Okanagan Exchange.

Future expansion

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In 2006, the Kelowna International Airport Advisory Committee created the Master Plan 2025, a document dedicated to the expansion of the Kelowna International Airport. The Plan is expected to cost approximately $150 million. Due to YLW's unprecedented growth, a Master Plan was required to aid in keeping the airport at modern traffic handling standards. By 2008, the airport lengthened the single runway to 8,900 ft (2,700 m), and plans to lengthen to 10,000 ft (3,000 m) by 2025. Also, the passenger terminal has been expanded so as to allow hourly processing of 680 passengers in 2015, and will be further expanded as to allow 900 passengers by 2025. Currently, the hourly rate is approximately 400 passengers. In order to do this, the terminal size will be nearly doubled, and a 2,400 space parkade will be constructed. Also, to reduce vehicular traffic congestion, a diamond overpass/underpass interchange will be constructed at the current intersection of Highway 97 and Airport Way.[24] A hotel is now being built on site next to the terminal.

Accidents and incidents

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  • October 13, 2016: Former Alberta premier Jim Prentice was among the four people killed in a small-plane crash in British Columbia that took off from Kelowna Airport. Prentice, 60, was aboard a twin-engine Cessna Citation that disappeared from radar shortly after takeoff from Kelowna, en route to the Springbank Airport, just outside Calgary.[25]
  • August 18th 2023: The airspace surrounding Kelowna International Airport had been closed to allow aerial fire-fighting activity for the wildfires in the Kelowna area.[26]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Airport Divestiture Status Report". Transport Canada. Archived from the original on February 23, 2007. Retrieved April 3, 2007.
  2. ^ Canada Flight Supplement. Effective 0901Z 16 July 2020 to 0901Z 10 September 2020.
  3. ^ Synoptic/Metstat Station Information Archived June 27, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "Aircraft movements, by class of operation and peak hour and peak day of movements, for airports with NAV CANADA towers, monthly". Stats Canada. November 24, 2022. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Facts & statistics". City of Kelowna. February 2024. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g "Airport history". Kelowna International Airport. June 6, 2013. Archived from the original on November 8, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  7. ^ Airline Timetable Images, Sept. 9, 1969 Pacific Western Airlines timetable
  8. ^ Departed Flights, April 15, 1975, Nov. 15, 1979, April 1, 1981 Official Airline Guide (OAG) editions, Kelowna flight schedules
  9. ^ Departed Flights, April 28, 1985 Pacific Western Airlines system timetable
  10. ^ Departed Flights, Aug. 1, 1996 Greyhound Air route map & timetable
  11. ^ Departed Flights, August 15, 1996 WestJet system timetable
  12. ^ Departed Flights, June 1, 1999 Official Airline Guide (OAG), Kelowna flight schedules
  13. ^ Duncan, Josh (August 15, 2024). "Alaska Airlines' new direct flight between Kelowna and Seattle will be year-round". KelownaNow Canada. Retrieved August 17, 2024.
  14. ^ "Alaska Adds 18 New Routes". Airline Geeks. July 10, 2024. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
  15. ^ "Pacific Coastal Airlines announces Kelowna-Comox route". Global News. April 15, 2024. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
  16. ^ "Airline will connect Nanaimo with Kelowna and Vancouver's south terminal". Nanaimo News Bulletin. June 12, 2023. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
  17. ^ "Pacific Coastal Airlines announces new Kelowna to Prince George route". CKPG. July 15, 2024. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  18. ^ "WESTJET EXPANDS KELOWNA NETWORK IN NW23". AeroRoutes. September 10, 2023. Retrieved September 10, 2023.
  19. ^ "The WestJet Group further solidifies its position as Canada's leisure champion with expanded 737 service to sun destinations". westjet.com. May 21, 2024. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  20. ^ "WestJet announces new daily service between Kelowna and Seattle beginning this winter". WestJet. July 24, 2024. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
  21. ^ Carson Air
  22. ^ Annual passenger (August 15, 2016). "Facts & statistics". Kelowna International Airport.
  23. ^ "BC Transit - Welcome to Kelowna". www.transitbc.com. Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  24. ^ City of Kelowna (July 3, 2006). "Kelowna International Airport Master Plan 2025 Summary Document" (PDF). (652 KB). Retrieved on March 26, 2007
  25. ^ "Ex-Alberta premier Jim Prentice killed in B.C. plane crash with 3 others - CBC News". cbc.ca. Archived from the original on April 28, 2018. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  26. ^ "All flights in and out of YLW grounded because of wildfires". Media_in_Kelowna. August 18, 2023. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
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