As a result of climate change, weather volatility has a direct impact on all aspects of the aviation industry. Heavy rain and snowfall can impact operations by reducing capacity and increasing delays and cancellations, all of which have financial implications on airlines due to lost revenues, increased operating costs and passenger inconvenience.
This winter, the Vancouver International Airport (YVR) saw numerous Pacific storms resulting in heavy rain and flooding across British Columbia, Canada. From early December through January, Vancouver was in the grips of a classic Canadian winter weather with frigid record-breaking cold temperatures.
Normally at YVR, temperatures hover around the freezing mark. This winter we broke a record: 5°F was recorded on December 27th, which was the coldest temperature at YVR in 52 years. The snowfall total for December 2021 was what we would normally see in an entire season at YVR. In fact, we received more snow than Calgary in both December and January (36.2 cm at YYC vs. 51.8 cm at YVR).
To minimize our environmental footprint, we work in collaboration with our partners in integrating environmental considerations into our business decisions. This process results in an even greater impact while still addressing any environmental issues.
In 2019, we focused our efforts on the use of fossil fuels and joined “Climate Smart” as part of Project Green YVR, an initiative that helps Sea Island businesses reduce their waste, water and energy consumption, with the goal to limit their impact on the environment and save money. These initiatives resulted in a 29% reduction in fuel emissions from anti-idling and energy savings from the installation of motion activated LED lighting at our facilities.
With our continued focus, we are happy to report that we just received one of the first electric deicing trucks in North America, at YVR. This not only improves the direct working environment of our employees and decreases exhaust emissions, but it also plays a part in reducing our carbon footprint.
If we all work together, it doesn’t take much energy to conserve energy!
