Concerns about Olympic security are now hitting British Columbia's largest airport. Planes taking off from airports without adequate security checks won't be allowed to land at Vancouver International Airport directly during the 2010 Winter Olympics.
The planes, flying regular routes from largely rural B.C. areas, will have to land in Abbotsford first to go through security, then head to YVR. Passengers are not pleased.
"That would be really really incovenient, to put it politely," said regular flyer Leanne Rogers.
"I'll just drive or I won't show up then, you can forget it," another passenger, John Emmerson, told CTV News.
The head of Pacific Coastal Airlines says his company will fight Olympic security rules that could ground its flights during the Games.
Daryl Smith says his company has been negotiating with security officials to maintain service during the 2010 Olympics, but to no avail.
He says options -- such as rerouting flights to airports where additional checks could be conducted -- would cost passengers as much as $50 and add 40 minutes to a 22 minute flight from Powell River.
Pacific Coastal brings about 200,000 people through Vancouver's airport annually from small communities in the Interior and Queen Charlotte Islands.
Olympic security is also forcing the closure of Vancouver's horse racing track for more than a month, resulting in the temporary layoffs of up to 200 people.
The company said the security measures could cost them $250,000.
With files from The Canadian Press.
