Passenger drop hits bottom line for Vancouver airport, businesses

Gerry and Jeanie Tiede’s hands have never been cleaner.

The south Surrey couple returned on Tuesday from four weeks in Morocco and Portugal, and while the rapid global spread of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, didn’t make them reconsider their trip, they did take some extra precautions.

“We brought a lot more Wet Ones and rubbing alcohol wipes, and we would wipe things down, especially in the plane on the way back,” said Jeanie. “We washed our hands — a lot. More and longer.”

But other travellers have decided to stay home, and airlines have cancelled flights to international destinations because of the virus. There are more than 100,000 cases globally.

As a result, the international departures hall at Vancouver International Airport has been quieter than usual, and many people are wearing face masks.

From behind the counter at Lattimer Gallery YVR, manager Amy Wilson has a perfect view of the comings and goings in the terminal.

“Since January, basically, just as things started to kind of appear on the news, we just saw reduced passenger flow through the airport. A lot of that had to do with cancellation of flights through to China,” Wilson said.

The airport did not have recent figures for passenger volumes, but said in an emailed statement that flights from Mainland China to YVR decreased by 50 per cent in February, and it anticipates a similar lower number of flights for March.

As of Tuesday there had been no decrease in the number of flights from anywhere else internationally, but that day Air Canada announced that it would be immediately suspending flights between Italy and Canada until May 1.

The Public Health Agency of Canada has recommended that Canadians avoid all cruise ship travel due to the outbreak, and travel health notices have been issued for China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Iran, Japan, northern Italy, Singapore, South Korea and Spain.

In the statement, airport CEO Craig Richmond said they are forecasting a three- to five-per-cent drop in passenger numbers for 2020, down from last year’s record of 26.4 million passengers.

The airport is also expecting a five- to 10-per-cent decline in revenue for this year thanks to less income from landing fees and less spending at the airport itself.

“However, we are confident in the airport’s ability to weather the current economic environment. We have been through similar challenges in the past, including the global economic downturn in 20082009 and SARS in 2002-2003, and these experiences are reflected in our responsible approach to growth,” Richmond said in the statement.

The reduction in flights and passengers is also hitting the businesses in the airport.

At Absolute Spa, which has five locations in the airport, stylist Bella Wegmuller said business has slowed significantly. “Passengers are scared to travel,” she said.

Pharmasave at YVR is doing brisk business in hand sanitizer, wipes and face masks, and as of Tuesday was also sold out of zinc, which a clerk said customers believe will protect them from the virus, though that claim is unproven.