Kelowna International Airport (IATA: YLW, ICAO: CYLW) is a Canadian airport located approximately 10 minutes or 6.2 NM (11.5 km; 7.1 mi) northeast of Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, on Highway 97.

The single runway airport operates scheduled air service to the major hub airports of Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, Victoria, and Seattle, as well as less frequent seasonal service to Cancún, Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos, and Las Vegas. Currently, the airport handles up to 36 commercial departures a day, or approximately 210 departures per week.

In 2010, the airport was among the busiest airports in Canada by number of passengers with 1,391,725, representing a 1.8% increase over 2009.^[5]

History

Kelowna International Airport's official history took off in 1946, when Kelowna residents voted 466 to 460 in favour of purchasing the 320-acre (1.3 km²) Dickson Ranch in Ellison for $20,000. In 1947, the grand opening of "Ellison Field" showcased a small terminal building, a 3,000 ft (914 m) grass runway, and a variety of small aircraft.

During the 1950s, increasing demand for better service prompted the federal Department of Transport to help gravel the airstrip and pave the parking lot and aircraft parking apron. In 1958, Canadian Pacific Airlines introduced daily, scheduled Douglas DC-3 service to Vancouver, which enabled the City to initiate negotiations with the federal government for a longer, paved airstrip.

After buying the land needed for expansion, in 1960 the City extended and paved the runway to 5,350 ft (1,630 m) and expanded the taxiway and apron. Then Mayor Dick Parkinson, an avid supporter of aviation and its economic benefits to the Okanagan, spearheaded the $312,000 upgrade.

Increasing aircraft and passenger movements during the early 1960s prompted local leaders to seek community support and funding for construction of a new Air Terminal Building at the south end of the runway. The original air traffic control tower was built on the flat deck of a truck.

The early 1970s marked the introduction of an air traffic control tower and an on-site weather office. In 1975, a Track Guidance Localizer was installed to reduce poor weather operating limits and improve flight reliability.

During the 1980s and early 1990s, more than $10 million was invested in upgrading the terminal building, runway, and airlines operating facilities. Increasing passenger and cargo volumes spawned growth in the airport's commercial sector. New businesses located on airport property and helped establish Kelowna as a serious contender in the aviation industry.

By 1997, annual passenger volumes had risen to more than 800,000, making it one of the fastest-growing airports in North America. To prepare for anticipated volumes of one million by 2011, the City of Kelowna embarked on a $20-million expansion program in 1998. The terminal building was doubled in size to 76,000 sq ft (7,100 m²), parking was increased to more than 1,200 paved stalls, and airside facilities were expanded to accommodate additional aircraft. These upgrades tripled the number the passengers the airport can service from 150 to 450 per hour. The project was funded by a $5 Airport Improvement Fee charged departing passengers.

In 2005, YLW surpassed 1,000,000 passengers for the first time in its history, recording a total of 1,070,171 passengers. This trend is expected to continue, as Kelowna International Airport is Canada's and one of North America's fastest growing airports.

Terminal facilities

Today, the recently expanded main terminal building is a modern, full-service facility covering approximately 76,000 sq ft (7,100 m²). There are 8 aircraft loading positions, all of which are fitted with jet bridges. The arrivals area contains three baggage belts, one of which can be cordoned off to accommodate US arrivals and Canadian Customs processing.

Several food and beverage services, including Tim Horton's and White Spot Legends restaurant, newsstands, and tourist-related retail stores, in addition to a limited selection of duty-free goods, can be found throughout the terminal. The departure lounge features a wired business centre. The airport's focal point is a glass rotunda which contains a fountain and the cylindrical glass sculpture "Escape from Stella Polaris". A small observation area is located on the mezzanine level.

Future expansion

In 2006, the Kelowna International Airport Advisory Committee created the Master Plan 2025, a document dedicated to the expansion of the Kelowna International Airport. The Plan is expected to cost approximately $150 million. Due to YLW's unprecedented growth, a Master Plan was required to aid in keeping the airport at modern traffic handling standards. By 2008, the airport lengthened the single runway to 8,900 ft (2,700 m), and plans to lengthen to 10,000 ft (3,000 m) by 2025. Also, there are plans for the passenger terminal to be expanded so as to allow hourly processing of 680 passengers by 2015, and 900 passengers by 2025. Currently, the hourly rate is approximately 400 passengers. In order to do this, the terminal size will be nearly doubled, and a 2,400 space parkade will be constructed. Also, to reduce vehicular traffic congestion, a diamond overpass/underpass interchange will be constructed at the current intersection of Highway 97 and Airport Way.^[6]

The airport's first project from this plan, which began February 2008, extended the runway from 7,300 to 8,900 ft (2,225 to 2,713 m) and was completed on time and on budget at a cost of $8 million. Federal and Provincial government partners each contributed $1.35 million while the City of Kelowna committed $5.3 million from Airport Improvement Fees.^[7] The airport hopes to lure long-haul non-stop charter flights from Europe.^[8]

Airlines and destinations

Scheduled services

Kelowna International Airport offers non-stop service to six domestic destinations and five international destinations which make up a total of 11 destinations.

Charter services

Incidents and accidents

The following accidents occurred either at the airport, or involved aircraft using the airport:

• July 14, 1986: Pacific Western Airlines Flight 117, a Boeing 737-200 flying from Calgary International Airport to Vancouver International Airport with a stop in Kelowna, left the runway while landing in Kelowna and came to rest approximately 1,300 ft (400 m) beyond the end of the runway. No fatalities or serious injuries were reported, however, 5 crew members and 76 passengers suffered minor injuries.^[9]
• February 4, 2009: At 10:40 a.m., a two-seat Cessna 152 coming from Salmon Arm crash-landed on Kelowna Airports main runway. The two passengers on board were uninjured.

References

External links

• Kelowna International Airport Page from the City of Kelowna web site
• Master Plan 2025
• Travel By Air Page from the Tourism Kelowna web site
• Page about this airport on COPA's Places to Fly airport directory
• Past three hours METARs, SPECI and current TAFs for Kelowna International Airport from NAV CANADA as available.