News release

Kelowna International Airport (YLW)’s annual Winter Travel Event will take place on Saturday, October 27, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Guests will be able to meet with airlines, travel agents, hotels and resorts to get helpful travel tips and information on popular destinations.

“This event is a great opportunity for locals to learn about travel options from YLW and win some great prizes,” said Sam Samaddar, YLW Airport Director. “We have over $9,000 in travel prizes this year, so there’s never been a better time to attend.”

KELOWNA - Today Kelowna International Airport (YLW), along with 29 airports across Canada, kicked off Canadian Airports Safety Week, an airport-led initiative to promote healthy and safe work practices among airport employees.

From September 17-21, all airport staff, whether they are working in the terminal building or on the airfield, will have the opportunity to take part in safety-themed activities and events throughout the week.

Upgrades to Kelowna International Airport (YLW)’s Instrument Landing System (ILS) are now underway. This system is responsible for providing aircraft guidance to the runway. As part of the upgrade, the existing system will be replaced with new state-of-the-art technology.

These upgrades are necessary as part of NAV CANADA’s National ILS Replacement Program and work is expected to be complete at the end of September 2018.

On July 31, preliminary work will begin to prepare for the widening of Airport Way at Kelowna International Airport (YLW). This necessary work includes the removal of trees and shrubs, which will be replaced with new landscaping once the project is complete in fall 2018.

YLW does not anticipate any significant impacts to vehicle traffic and there will be no impact to flights at YLW.

Today, passengers at Kelowna International Airport can access the full White Spot menu, as kitchen renovations are now complete.

As part of these upgrades, brand new, state-of-the-art equipment was installed and the kitchen area was redesigned to improve capacity and speed of service for White Spot customers.

Tonight, the first Air Canada redeye flight will depart from Kelowna International Airport (YLW) to Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ).

The debut flight will depart Kelowna at 10:55 p.m. and land in Toronto at 6:00 a.m. Sunday morning, just in time to catch one of more than 430 Air Canada-operated and airline partner flights to destinations around the globe, including over 96 daily destinations throughout  eastern Canada, the United States and Europe.

Today, Sunwing Airlines announced expanded service to Mexico for YLW passengers this winter. Starting on December 15, 2018, weekly direct service from Kelowna (YLW) to Los Cabos (SJD) will operate Saturdays until April 20, 2019.

“We are excited for additional direct service to Los Cabos for YLW passengers,” said Sam Samaddar, Airport Director. “We’ve heard from passengers that they want to see more service to sunny destinations, and this is just one way we’re working to make this a reality.”

Today, Kelowna International Airport (YLW) welcomed one of the largest aircrafts to land at the airport, the Boeing 747 Special Performance (747SP).

The aircraft arrived non-stop from Shannon, Ireland to Kelowna for light maintenance at KF Aerospace.

“The arrival of the 747SP is a great opportunity to demonstrate YLW’s ability to accommodate larger aircraft on the airport campus,” said Sam Samaddar, Airport Director. “We know that our region has increasing demands for air service and the ability to land planes this size opens up lots of doors for us going forward.”

Pacific Coastal Airlines has improved its B.C. connectivity for YLW passengers with its recent autumn service announcement. Kelowna (YLW) to Cranbrook (YXC) service has been increased to seven days a week and the Kelowna to Victoria (YYJ) route will now have an early morning departure allowing for a full business day in Victoria, as well as better connections to the wider B.C. market. Additionally, the airline has added a late evening departure from Kelowna to Victoria on Fridays. The new flight schedule will begin Sept. 4.

Flair Air has announced additional flights for the 2018 summer season with new service from Kelowna to Calgary. Additional service has also been added on the Kelowna to Edmonton route, bumping it up to daily non-stop service.

“We’re excited about the additional flights that Flair Air will be providing,” said Phillip Elchitz, YLW’s Senior Airport Operations Manager. “The timing couldn’t be better with passengers starting to think about where they’d like to adventure this summer.”