Flights to and from Vancouver International Airport (YVR) are currently experiencing delays.
Nav Canada, the non-profit organization in charge of air navigation in Canada, announced on July 18 that some flights at YVR are affected by resource constraints at the agency.
"Our team is moving aircraft safely, and as quickly as possible," reads Nav Canada's post on social media platform X.
In a statement to the Richmond News, Nav Canada confirmed resource constraints have led to "limited instances of traffic management initiatives at YVR."
Traffic management initiatives include spacing out traffic when the number of aircraft exceeds system capacity. Factors such as weather, runway conditions and airport construction are taken into consideration when making such decisions, according to Nav Canada's website.
"Nevertheless, the summer 2024 holiday season has seen continued improvements from the aviation industry as a whole in terms of ensuring Canadians can travel efficiently and on time," reads the statement.
According to YVR's estimate published on June 20, the airport is expecting 7.8 million passengers to go through the airport between July 1 and Sept. 30, with an average of 85,196 passengers per day and a total of 62,387 flights.
Earlier this year, Nav Canada launched a new recruitment campaign in June and entered into a strategic agreement with Canadian Aviation Electronics (CAE) to increase training capacity for air traffic services professionals.
The agreement is expected to help bring up to 140 additional students into air traffic services training each year, adding up to a total of 800 new students over the next two years. Nav Canada currently has 430 students undergoing training.
"More specifically to Vancouver operations, we can say that we have had some recent qualifications and are optimistic for further gains as we increase training capacity," reads Nav Canada's statement.
Updates to the traffic management initiatives will be posted on Nav Canada's X account. More information about Nav Canada's traffic management initiatives is available online.
Travellers are advised to check their flight status with their airlines before leaving for the airport.
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