Metro Vancouver airports are preparing for the arrival of world leaders, celebrities and the ultrarich of their private jets as they descend for the FIFA World Cup, which starts next month.
Andy Margolis, the chief operations officer of Vancouver International Airport, is expecting a spike from the 15 to 25 private planes that typically arrive at YVR day by day.
But he says the influx is unlikely to match to the 181 private planes that landed on sooner or later during Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour in Vancouver in December 2024.
“(The World Cup) is over a number-of-weeks period. I’m not anticipating the numbers on the times either side of the games here to get anywhere near Taylor Swift. So it’s all inside our manageable capability.”
Vancouver is hosting seven matches in June and July.
Private planes arriving at YVR must book their landing time and work with one among three specialty firms which have bases on the airport and advertise perks like luxury hangars and pilot lounges.
Margolis said it’s difficult to understand how many private planes will likely be landing in Vancouver for the World Cup because most don’t book a slot until closer to their planned arrival.
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The Boundary Bay Airport in Delta, B.C., accepts landings on a first-come first-serve basis, quite than having to book a selected landing time. It’s also preparing for a rise in private jets for the tournament.
Julia Rieberger, administrative manager for the airport operator Alpha Aviation, said they’re putting together contingency plans for added plane parking and searching into the choice of providing helicopter transfers into Vancouver if visitors need to avoid the 30-kilometre drive to BC Place stadium.
“We’ve received quite a number of inquiries. We’ve got charter firms and personal operators which are asking about our pricing, and what fuel supply we’ve got, and if we’ve got customs clearance, and just ticking all of the boxes of whether or not we’re a viable entryway to Vancouver,” she said.
“So we’ve had a variety of inquiries, but by way of solid booking, that won’t occur likely until 24 to 48 hours out.”
Rieberger said Boundary Bay normally sees a “handful” of personal planes every week.
Like Margolis, she’s not expecting a Swift-level influx.
“Taylor Swift was kind of the benchmark for personal aircraft coming into Vancouver,” she said.
Nav Canada, which provides the country’s air traffic services, said it has been planning for this summer’s “demand profile” for well over a 12 months, “including for periods of heightened seasonal demand and major international events hosted in Canada.”
“Nav Canada has a proven track record of delivering secure and efficient services during major international events — the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, the 2018 G7 Summit in Charlevoix, the 2025 G7 Summit in Kananaskis, and the Canadian Grand Prix in Montréal 12 months after 12 months,” it said in an announcement.
“Our planning for this summer draws directly on the protocols and lessons learned from those events, including co-ordination with airlines, airport authorities, and area airports where overflow business and general aviation traffic typically diverts.”
Margolis said a team on the airport has been planning for FIFA and the World Cup games since 2022.
As for soccer fans not within the private-plane tax bracket, Margolis said the number of business flights landing in Vancouver is just not changing, but planes are expected to be full.
During summer, the airport sees a mean of 80,000 passengers a day.
“Our forecasts are between five and 10 per cent increase in passenger numbers on any day. So, so far as our system is anxious, that’s not an enormous amount of increase. It’ll just be travellers on those planes will likely be coming for FIFA-related reasons, quite than other reasons.”
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