Editing Vancouver International Airport (section)

==History==
[[File:Landing Fields - Canada - NARA - 68159256 (page 1) (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|The airport and surrounding area in 1940]]

In 1929, the City of Vancouver purchased land located on Sea Island to be used for aviation purposes, replacing the original grass airstrip at [[Minoru Park]] on [[Lulu Island]]. During [[World War II]], the airport and its original terminal, now the South Terminal, were leased to the federal government and operated by the [[Department of National Defence (Canada)|Department of National Defence]] and the [[Transport Canada|Department of Transport]] as [[RCAF Station Sea Island]]. The airport was used for the [[British Commonwealth Air Training Plan]]. The crews and their families were housed in a new town-site on the island, named [[Burkeville, British Columbia|Burkeville]], after Boeing president Stanley Burke. Funds from the lease were used to purchase additional land for new hangars and a production plant for Boeing Aircraft of Canada<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.yvr.ca/en/about/history.aspx |title=YVR > About Us > History |access-date=August 10, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314034022/http://www.yvr.ca/en/about/history.aspx |archive-date=March 14, 2016}}</ref> (now [[Boeing Canada]]).

The present main terminal was completed in 1968 and has since been expanded to include separate domestic and international terminals. A north runway was completed in 1996.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sfu.ca/geog351fall04/etc_webdesigns/van_hist.htm |title=YVR – Vancouver International Airport -History |publisher=Simon Fraser University |access-date=August 16, 2017}}</ref>

A United States border pre-clearance facility was created in the 1970s, and as of 2024 has the largest operating hours of any US pre-clearance facility, operating from 4:30 AM to midnight the next day.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Preclearance {{!}} U.S. Customs and Border Protection |url=https://www.cbp.gov/travel/preclearance |access-date=2024-01-31 |website=www.cbp.gov |language=en}}</ref>

In 2011, the airport announced that it would enact a program aiming to encourage airlines to start more flights between Vancouver and Asia.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/vancouver-airport-launches-plan-to-lure-asia-pacific-traffic/article2315293/ |last=Hume |first=Mark |title=Vancouver airport launches plan to lure Asia-Pacific traffic |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140307115008/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/vancouver-airport-launches-plan-to-lure-asia-pacific-traffic/article2315293/ |archive-date=March 7, 2014 |work=[[The Globe and Mail]] |date=January 25, 2012 |access-date=February 9, 2012}}</ref> As of 2022, the program has succeeded in many of its goals.

The airport has often been described as a major trans-Pacific hub due to its location in the [[Pacific Northwest]] and destinations in the Americas, Asia, and Australia, which help facilitate connecting flights. In 2019, Craig Richmond, then President and CEO of the Vancouver Airport Authority, said that the recent growth of [[Seattle–Tacoma International Airport]] in the [[United States]] could challenge Vancouver's status as a trans-Pacific hub, although Seattle/Tacoma is already the larger airport.<ref name="hive" />