What do you do at YVR if you have a long layover or extra time to kill? Those with any interest in aviation will find the airport observation area fun and informative.
I visited the the YVR observation area recently on a five-hour layover. My flight to YVR arrived when the security and immigration access for flights to the US was closed. I was forced to exit to the landside rather than going to the very nice airside Priority Pass Plaza Premium lounge that is open 24/7.
YVR has some interesting features landside that one can find by walking around.
Exploring is preferable to subjecting oneself to the uncomfortable seating in front of the check-in counters. A few months ago, I spent a few hours sitting there trying to sleep in these chairs. I nearly froze from the frigid blasts of air each time the doors opened.
The observation area is a much better use of time. It is located above the Island Court, a food court in the center of the terminal.
The escalator at the end of the corridor leads to the observation area.
There is tons of seating and floor-to-ceiling windows that provide great views of the airport. There are several free telescopes mounted next to the windows to aid plane spotting.
The centerpiece of the observation area is an overhead representation of YVR circled by panels explaining some aspects of airport operations and the history of the airport site.
Other explanatory panels are located next to the windows.
Visitors who take the time to read these panels will learn a lot.
In addition to great views, the observation area offers interactive kiosks with more neat facts about YVR and flying.
The interactive kiosks were neat. I tried the tail matching game.
I especially liked listening to tower/aircraft communications.
Overall Impression
I normally spend down time in airports in a lounge eating, relaxing or getting on line. It is worthwhile sometimes to get out of the lounge and do a little exploring. I’ve found very good observation areas or decks at several airports including Baltimore/Washington International and Amsterdam Schipol. The observation area at Vancouver International is definitely worth a visit.
Great post and I really wish more airports had observation and education areas like this. Thanks for pointing out that Baltimore Washington International airport has a great observation gallery (outside of security). Back in the day they even had a deck there to go outside and watch the planes which was so cool.
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Thanks for the comment. I edited out the typos 🙂 Amsterdam Schiphol has a huge outdoor observation deck. I don’t know of any outdoor public observation decks in the US. Delta has outdoor patios, SkyDecks, at its SkyClubs at ATL and JFK. The Skydecks are essentially fancy observation decks. Delta Diamonds, SkyClub members, international business class passengers, and those willing to pay $59 can enter the SkyClub and access the SkyDeck.
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