2008-04_skytalk

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Attention: Airport Employees

Spring Warehouse Sale

Thursday, April 24th 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

APRIL 2008

CELEBRATING 15 YEARS

A new Link at YVR

T

passengers travelling through YVR, and

British Columbia’s rich culture and

features international check-in capacity

heritage.

for more than 500 travellers per hour,

Underscoring YVR’s theme of Land,

baggage facilities, and office space for

Sea and Sky, the building’s atrium area

some 100 Airport Authority employees.

also houses a water feature. And if

Once operations on the Canada Line

you look up, way up, you can watch

begin in late 2009, the Link will also serve

the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights,

as the main point of entry for passengers

depicted by coloured lights playing on a

disembarking at the rapid transit line’s

series of curved glass ceiling panels.

final airport station. Passengers will

Construction of the 2,800 square-

enter the Link via a covered overhead

metre Link Building began in May

walkway for fast and convenient check-

2005. The project has already received

in after a short 26-minute ride from

industry accolades, including an award

downtown Vancouver.

for Best Steel Construction in British

The interior of the Link Building

Columbia in 2007 from the Canadian

he newest addition to YVR’s

features original Northwest Coast

facilities is the Link Building,

Native art including Celebrating

When fully operational later this year,

which connects the Domestic and

Flight, a 10-metre totem pole, and

the Link’s additional capacity will help

International terminals. Standing five

Moon Mask, a stunning circular

ensure a wrinkle-free travel experience

storeys tall, the Link Building features

piece that overlooks the building’s

for the more than 17-million passengers

a unique oval-shaped glass and steel

central atrium. Both original works

expected in 2008, and the many visitors

exterior.

were created by Northwest Coast

to YVR when Vancouver welcomes the

artist Don Yeomans and highlight

world in 2010.

The Link is a central hub for

YVR People

George Agnew Green Coat Volunteer

G

eorge Agnew has been involved with YVR for

East Concourse (Underneath the Fairmont Vancouver Airport)

Institute of Steel Construction.

(ABOVE) The 10-metre totem pole, Celebrating Flight, points upward to the Aurora Borealis, depicted by coloured lights on a series of curved glass ceiling panels. (LEFT) So named because it links the International and Domestic terminals, the $117-million Link Building provides increased international check-in capacity, passenger screening, additional baggage systems and office space.

CTA overturns Air Canada’s ban on small pets on passenger aircraft

T

he Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) has disallowed Air Canada’s ban on animals and their kennels weighing less than 31.7 kilograms as checked baggage on domestic

and international flights.

the last 41 years. A long-standing employee of Air Canada, he

In its decision, the Agency, an independent quasi-judicial

retired in 1999 only to return to the airport a year later

tribunal that regulates various modes of transportation under

to work with the Airport Authority

Government of Canada jurisdiction, found that Air Canada’s ban

and eventually with Princess Cruises.

on pets was unreasonable.

See PETS page 3

Today, he can be found patrolling the arrivals area of the International and Domestic terminals providing a helping hand to passengers and

Business Watch Program launched at YVR

identifiable green vests and jackets. The program

V

of Canada recently launched Business

neighbours—in

consists of more than 200 volunteers, who in 2007

Watch, a new crime prevention program

airport

contributed more than 39,000 volunteer hours.

at YVR.

together on crime prevention.

visitors as one of YVR’s many Green

ancouver

Coat Volunteers. Green Coats are YVR’s award-winning volunteer customer care ambassadors, named for their easily

Richmond

Airport RCMP

Authority,

Similar to the Neighbourhood

Crime

Block Watch program, Business

Prevention Unit and the Bank

Designed to detect and prevent crime,

George has been spreading West Coast hospitality

Watch is designed to encourage this

case,

retailers—to

work

Richmond RCMP, Bank of Canada

Business Watch allows retail tenants to notify

helps travellers find their way through the terminals,

fellow retailers of any suspicious activity in the

provides information on services at the airport, and

airport. Retailers complete an incident checklist and

four security information-awareness sessions about

informs travellers of the wonders of British Columbia

submit the information to YVR Airport Operations

Business Watch with airport retailers. More than

and the Vancouver region. When asked why he does it,

team, which then immediately distributes the

80 retail employees attended the seminars, which

the answer is simple: “I just like helping people.”

information to all airport businesses via a fax blast.

focused on long-term crime prevention strategies.

See YVR PEOPLE page 3

and the Airport Authority conducted

Airport retailers also now prominently display a

Business Watch is just one component of the

Business Watch sticker in their store, as a deterrent

airport’s overall plan to ensure the safety and

to possible criminal activity.

President’s Corner

Page

YVR Public Meeting

Page

3

4

To launch the program, the

at YVR as a Green Coat for the last five years. He

For George, the dynamic environment of the airport

inside:

Travel Talk Classifieds

11 13

Page

Page

See BUSINESS WATCH page 3

Cell Phone Rentals

ion uage Translat • Audio Lang et tern • Email & In s ap  M • GPS

Call * YVR is the international aeronautical designation for Vancouver International Airport.

604-671-4655


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