South Terminal Viewing Platform

Bike: 8 mins

Walk: 35 mins

Drive: 5 mins

The Vancouver Civic Airport opened in 1931, when $600,000 was invested in a runway and a wood-framed building topped by a control tower—after aviator Charles Lindbergh refused to visit because there was “nothing fit to land on.” Today this site is known as Airport South or the South Terminal.

In the early days, most flights were for sightseers who wanted to view the Vancouver area and the local mountains. Flights landing after dark were guided to the landing strip by a line of storm lanterns. If more light was needed, airport staff put a call out for help on the local radio station, and obliging car owners parked on the edges of the runway with their headlamps on.

The airport continued to grow. It was renamed the Vancouver International Airport in 1948 and, 20 years later, the Main Terminal Building was added. Since 2009, YVR has been consistently recognized as one of the world’s best airports, and it is home to the largest float plane company in the world. Stop by the viewing platform to spot traffic from the South Terminal, or relax at the Flying Beaver Bar and Grill beside the seaplane terminal and watch float planes come and go.

Photo Credit: Vancouver Airport terminal building, 1937.
Eric Rathborne photograph, City of Richmond Archives 1997 5 22