YLW welcomes the 747SP

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.”

By 2045, YLW is anticipated to serve 3.5 million passengers annually. With such a high growth rate, the Airport has developed Master Plan 2045, which outlines the future development and expansion of facilities and systems to meet passenger and aircraft demand over the next 30 years.

To accommodate the landing of the 747SP, airport operations temporarily restricted access to the runway in order to maneuver and position the aircraft for towing and parking at the KF facility. The 747SP will remain at KF Aerospace for a short period of time. There were no impacts to passengers or incoming or departing flights at YLW.

KF Aerospace is the largest private employer in the Okanagan, and operates a maintenance, repair and overhaul facility on site. “The arrival of this aircraft gives us a picture of what is possible on the airport campus when KF and YLW work together. There could be many more opportunities to follow if we’re receiving and servicing long haul aircrafts.” said Paula Quinn, Corporate Secretary, KF Aerospace.