News release

Kelowna International Airport (YLW) is hosting its annual Spring Travel Show Saturday, March 7, from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Guests can meet with airlines, travel agents, hotels and resorts to get helpful travel tips and information on popular destinations.

This year, YLW and its partners are giving away 13 prize packages, including:

Largest aircraft to operate at YLW will begin scheduled service this summer

Kelowna International Airport (YLW) is pleased to announce 40 per cent more capacity on Air Canada’s daily non-stop service to Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ), just in time for the busy summer travel season.

On Sunday, January 26th, Canucks Autism Network (CAN) and Kelowna International Airport (YLW) will host their third annual YLW Accessibility Tour for individuals with autism and their families. Held from 10:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. in the YLW WestJet check-in area, over 70 individuals are expected at the event.

Due to anxiety or sensory sensitivities, air travel can present significant challenges for individuals with autism. The tour will take families through the entire pre-flight process, including check-in, security, finding their gate and boarding a plane.

At approximately 9:10 a.m. today, Air Canada flight 8399 departing from Kelowna on route to Vancouver advised Kelowna International Airport (YLW) air traffic control that they had a mechanical issue and was required to return to the gate.

As a safety precaution, emergency response teams were dispatched to standby.

The aircraft returned safely to the gate and passengers are now being offloaded from the plane and returned to the terminal. There was no disruption to scheduled flight service at YLW.

Kelowna International Airport (YLW) has released its final passenger numbers for 2019, with figures showing airport travel surpassing two million passengers, securing tenth busiest airport in Canada for a second year in a row.

In 2019, passengers totaled 2,032,144, a 1.3 per cent decrease or 26,886 fewer passengers than in 2018.

Kelowna International Airport (YLW) is preparing for another busy holiday season, with over 100,000 passengers expected over the next three weeks. Passengers are advised to plan ahead and prepare for longer than normal wait times at the airport to reduce travel-related stress.

YLW anticipates increased, but steady traffic flow from Dec. 19 through Jan. 8. The busiest travel days of the season will be Dec. 20 - 29. Follow the travel tips below to help make the travel experience as easy as possible:

Kelowna International Airport (YLW) announced the next phase of its capital development program - Soaring Beyond 2.5 Million Passengers, to help meet unprecedented levels of passenger growth.

In 2018, passengers totaled a record-breaking 2,080,372, a 31 per cent increase or more than 486,700 passengers since 2015—becoming the 10th busiest airport in Canada.

Kelowna International Airport (YLW)’s annual Winter Travel Show will take place on Saturday, Oct. 19, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Guests will be able to meet with airlines, travel agents, hotels and resorts to get helpful travel tips and information on popular destinations.

“This event is a great way to learn about the many travel destinations from YLW, and win some great prizes,” said Sam Samaddar, Airport Director. “Thanks to our travel partners, we are giving away over $15,000 in prizes, including all-inclusive trips to Mexico, Phoenix, and Las Vegas.”

Renovations to the Kid’s Zone are now underway to revitalize the space and transform it into an active play area for kids of all ages. The new Kid’s Zone will feature a tree-fort inspired play structure with a slide, and a cozy space for reading.

Other features include:

Today, Kelowna International Airport (YLW) hosted a multi-agency training exercise simulating an aircraft crash. More than 20 agencies were involved in this mock emergency to practice major incident skills and find improvements to the agencies’ current response plans. Flights at YLW were not impacted by the exercise.