Travelers heading to Vancouver International Airport this Friday may want to leave extra early to avoid Black Friday traffic around the nearby outlet mall.
On Nov. 23, Black Friday sales are scheduled to hit Richmond鈥檚 McArthurGlen Designer Outlet. In anticipation of increased traffic, YVR says it is working with RCMP traffic enforcement and traffic management at the mall, but that travelers heading to the airport should plan for delays.
After the mall opened in 2015, some travelers have complained about increased traffic to the airport on significant shopping days, leading them to nearly miss their flights.
鈥淚t took us 30 minutes to drive from Marine Drive and Granville Street to the cut-off to the McArthurGlen Designer Outlet mall, en route to the Vancouver International Airport 鈥� about two kilometres. It, along with the聽adjoining roads, were literally parking lots,鈥� said John Lumley in a letter to the Richmond News after travelling to YVR last Boxing Day.
鈥淵es, we made our flight 鈥� just. But I鈥檓 sure many didn鈥檛, due to traffic congestion.鈥�
To avoid congestion, the airport recommends that travelers, Sea Island employees and Black Friday shoppers all take the Canada Line, if possible.
