Airport Olympic Official Predicts Short Lines Monday

(ATR) The head of the Vancouver International Airport’s Olympic planning says travelers leaving March 1 can expect shorter lines than at past Olympics.

Paul Levy, Vice President, 2010 Planning, Vancouver Airport Authority, said in an interview with Around the Rings "there will be some lines but not the types you’ve seen at other game".

The airport has a 5-4-3-2-1- countdown, giving travelers an hour-by-hour guide for their departure.

"At five hours ahead you should be going online and checking your flight and if have the ability to check in at the hotel you can do that” Levy said. "At four hours you want to be at the airport. At three hours you want to be through your check in process. At two hours you want to be in the restricted side in the airport and at one hour you need to be at your gate prepared for boarding."

Levy said at previous Games, individuals hoping to ensure they leave following the closing ceremonies would arrive “10 or 12 hours” before their flight “which only adds to the problem”. The countdown will hopefully prevent that Levy said.

Countdown information is available on the airport’s Web site and will also be slipped under the doors of hotel visitors leaving March 1.

Shorter Lines than Past Games

Levy said there will be lines at the airport, but they will be shorter than at previous Olympics.

However, he is “pretty confident” the airport will not be choked like the Salt Lake Airport following the 2002 Games.

Lines to check in snaked through the airport out the door. Travelers had to wait hours to check in and many missed flights.

March 1 is expected to be the busiest day of the airport’s history. An estimated 39,000 passengers will go through Vancouver International Monday. The current record for passenger traffic was set in August of 2008 when 26,000 travelers used the airport.

Seven Years of Planning for March 1

Levy said plans for the airport’s Olympic role began in 2003 when Vancouver was selected to host the Games. His role began about three years ago.

The Olympics served as a catalyst for construction but “a lot of what’s been going on hasn’t just been Olympic related. We wanted to make sure we had all the infrastructure in place and construction wasn’t going to be going on when visitors started arriving.”

An example of that Levy said is the Canada Line linking the airport and city via a rail line on public transit.

Hundreds of millions of dollars was spent to complete the line.

Adjustments Made to Cope with Crowds

Levy had to move staff around to help manage the influx of passengers.

“We’ve taken upwards of 150 people out of what I would call their ‘desk jobs’ and they’ve been reassigned for the duration of the Olympic and Paralympic Games to really be ambassadors” he said.

They will be stationed in the terminal and offer directional and operational answers to visitors.

Additionally an auxiliary terminal will be used for the processing of around 10,000 passengers who will arrive via the VANOC bus network which serves accredited persons.

Vancouver’s permanent terminal will be utilized for other passengers to ensure it remains “comfortable” for those passengers.

“This auxiliary terminal we put in place and it’s just been completed a few weeks ago. It will make it a positive experience for everybody.”

Additional security equipment was brought in to improve the flow of luggage following the Games.

Airlines are sending larger capacity planes than would normally fly the routes to handle the exodus.

Village Check Ins

Athletes, coaches and officials can check in at the Olympic Villages.

“We’ll have airline representatives who will handle about 3,000 departing guests” he said.

An added benefit to the Village check-ins is the flow of luggage. Luggage can be collected 24 hours ahead of flight time and brought to the airport. This will allow nearly 10000 pieces of luggage to be screened in off-peak hours.

Written by Ed Hula III.