More delays, some cancellations at Vancouver airport as weather improves

Snow is seen at Vancouver International Airport in an image shared to Twitter by Air Canada in December of 2022.

With temperatures rising on B.C.'s South Coast, fewer impacts are expected at the Vancouver airport on Friday – though there were still dozens of delayed flights and a handful of cancellations listed heading into the weekend.

In a weather update posted Friday morning, Vancouver International Airport said "more than 99 per cent" of scheduled flights were operating.

"YVR and our contracted crews continue to clear residual snow and ice from our runways, taxiways, and apron surfaces," the update reads. "Our de-icing facilities are operations, and aircraft are being de-iced as needed."

There were four cancelled flights and 24 delayed departures listed on the YVR website as of 8:30 a.m.

That's a vast improvement from Wednesday, when a winter storm blanketed much of Metro Vancouver in 30 centimetres of snow, and approximately 25 per cent of flights were cancelled at the airport.

YVR said travellers should still check the status of their flight before leaving home, and give themselves extra time to arrive at the airport.

The weather has not improved as much in the Fraser Valley, where many areas remained under a freezing rain warning on Friday morning, including Abbotsford.

At the Abbotsford International Airport, one of the four departures listed for Friday was delayed as of mid-morning.