It is one of the busiest long weekends of the year in B.C.’s South Coast for travel, with thousands of people using airplanes, highways, and ferries to get around.
At Vancouver International Airport (YVR), more than 292,000 passengers are expected over the long weekend.
Airport officials are giving their usual advice of allowing plenty of time to spare before catching a flight — two hours for domestic travel and three hours for international — and monitoring flight statuses online.
The airport also has a virtual check-in service, which is highly recommended as well.
The most popular destinations for travellers through YVR are Toronto, Calgary and Edmonton within Canada, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas and Honolulu in the U.S., and Hong Kong, Puerto Vallarta, Cancun, Tokyo, and London internationally.
On the coast, BC Ferries has scheduled an extra 192 sailings for extra capacity for long weekend travel.
For Easter weekend, the ferry service is expecting more than 434,000 passengers, which is an 11 per cent increase from last year.
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“Ideally, get a reservation,” Jeff Groot, a BC Ferries spokesperson said.
“I know we’re at that point where getting a reservation for the time you’re looking for is difficult because we’re booked up, but if you don’t have a reservation, consider walking on, coming by public transit, carpooling, or being dropped off. It’s very rare for our foot passenger space to fill up.”
TransLink is also warning passengers there will be delays on the SkyTrain over the long weekend.
Bus, SkyTrain and SeaBus services will run on a Sunday/holiday schedule for Good Friday and the West Coast Express will not be running.
Holiday fare will be in effect, meaning riders will only have to pay for a single zone to travel across Metro Vancouver.
On Easter Monday, bus and SeaBus services will be operating on a standard weekday schedule, and the West Coast Express will run at its “standard reduced frequency.”
The transit authority is warning riders to give themselves an extra 20 minutes for their trips.
Clear skies and sunshine are expected for both Saturday and Sunday over the long weekend with a high of 15 C for Saturday and 14 C for Sunday.
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