The Busiest Airports in British Columbia Ranked

British Columbia is a Canadian Providence that takes up the western part of Canada. That providence is famous for the wonderful nature scenes. Their residents embrace all the nature in British Columbia as hiking, skiing, swimming, snowboarding, and kayaking are popular activities. The two popular cities that people visit in British Columbia are Vancouver and Victoria. Aside from the two popular cities, there are many different reasons that people fly in and out of British Columbia. Before you plan to possibly visit the providence, make sure you know where are the busiest airports in British Columbia.

Vancouver International Airport

The Vancouver International Airport is the second largest airport in Canada in regard to passenger traffic. It’s located several miles from downtown Vancouver. Vancouver International is a hub for Air Canada and WestJet. It has won several airport awards in the past few years. It won the Skytrax “Best North American Airport” in 2007 and 2010 through 2022 for twelve straight years. Some of the airlines available at the airport are Air Canada, Alaska Airlines, Air France, Air India, Fiji Airways, Delta Airlines, JetBlue, American Airlines, Sun Country Airlines, WestJet, and United Airlines. They serve nineteen million passengers annually.

Victoria International Airport

The Victoria International Airport is the second biggest airport in British Columbia behind the Vancouver International Airport. It’s several miles down from downtown Victoria. Their busiest period is during the summer as the requests for international flights increase greatly. It has ten gates and one terminal. Some of the airlines available for travelers are Air Canada, Alaska Airlines, Kenmore Air, Porter Airlines, Swoop, WestJet, and Flair Airlines. As of 2021, the Victoria International Airport handles close to two million passengers annually.

Kelowna International Airport

This international airport is located a few miles outside of the Kelowna city center. Most of their flights go to larger cities such as Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Ontario, and Vancouver. Kelowna International Airport is another major popular airport for international trips in the summer. What makes this airport special is all the shuttles they have to different locations. Some of the locations the shuttles can take travelers to are Vernon, Kelowna, West Kelowna, Vernon, and Lake County. There is a special shuttle during the winter season that takes passengers to the Big Ski White Resort. The buses also provide scheduled routes to smaller cities within the Lower Mainland and the Okanagan. Kelowna International handles 1.7 million passengers annually.

Abbotsford International Airport

Abbotsford International Airport is conveniently located just outside of Abbotsford, British Columbia. It’s forty-one miles from Vancouver and sixteen miles from Langley City. The Abbotsford airport has ten scheduled flights to domestic destinations and provides international flights during the summer. Typically, the airport traffic picks up greatly during the summertime. This year, the airport hit a new passenger traffic record, which shows that the airport fully recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic and is a much stronger airport than before. They’re currently serving 1.2 million passengers annually.

Prince George Airport

The Prince George Airport is located nine miles southeast of downtown Prince George, British Columbia. It serves as a connector flight to Calgary, Vancouver, Edmonton, Smithers, Terrence, Fort Nelson, and Fort St. John. Some of the airlines available are Air Canada, JetWest, Pacific Coastal Airlines, and Central Mountain Air. The airport serves five hundred thousand people annually.

The airport was first founded in 1940 and initially connected Canadians to different Alaskan cities such as Juneau and Fairbanks. They held their first aircraft show in 1960 and the airport’s popularity grew. The airport expanded by adding larger runways, refueling stations, parking garages, and coffee shops. Statistics in 1987 showed how influential the airport was to Prince George’s economy by contributing $32 million dollars annually to the city. It grew its international services and amenities even more in the 2000s.

Prince Rupert Airport

The Prince Rupert Airport is five miles southwest of Prince Rupert, British Columbia. This is a unique airport located on Digby Island just outside of the airport. A ferry is needed to get to the airport on the island and the ferry ticket is included in the airplane ticket costs. The Prince Rupert Airport serves over sixty thousand passengers annually.