Flying through YYC (security, connections, customs, etc) Sep 2021 onwards
 

YYC (the airport, not the whole city) is currently a mess due to a combination of COVID measures and airport construction. We have seen numerous questions in the AC forum about the current situation, and a fair amount of information has been posted in one of the COVID threads on what it's currently like to fly out of/through/in to YYC at the moment, but since this information could potentially be beneficial to those flying other airlines as well as those flying AC, @tcook052 and I decided we should start a thread in this forum dedicated to current experiences at YYC.

This thread will attempt to be a repository for information on the current situation and how it impacts flights, both O/D YYC as well as connections.

I've thrown a whole bunch of info, compiled from my recent YYC experiences plus some info from other FTers, into a wiki. Additional info/improvements are requested and encouraged, and please feel free to post questions and experiences in the thread.

Hours at B security were significantly expanded somewhere between the 8th and yesterday. Wiki updated.

Calgary Airport D/E Pier Domestic
 

Calgary Airport basically closed the A pier as part of its COVID slowdown strategy. Regular WestJet passengers through the airport will recall that A used to be the airline's primary domestic pier, so its closure has caused a significant change to WestJet's operations. In general, it seems as though YYC has spread domestic flights fairly evenly amongst piers B, C, and D/E, with a sprinkling of A when necessary.

I flew through YYC today and my flights were at gates 88 and 90. Given that these gates are typically E (US pre-clearance) gates, I was interested to see how the airport managed access for domestic passengers and maintained segregation for US and international passengers.

Basically, the traditionally US-only wing of the terminal (88-97, with swing access to 84-87) is now domestic-only. There's a strategic corridor between the main D concourse and this part of the E concourse that has been manually opened to provide access. US departures are limited to gates that can be accessed directly from the main E concourse, with barriers preventing access to the large, main ramp that connects the main concourse with gates 88-97.

Additionally, the main D concourse, and its retail, is open to all domestic and international travellers. The usual corridor for domestic-D concourse connections is fixed open to provide uninhibited access, without any checks. I assume the international-only checks are occuring closer to the relevant gates - has anyone flown out to a non-US international destination and can advise?

All in all, this is a boon for domestic travellers, with flights departing from the nicer concourse, with better shops and dining. That said, it can be a hike from the B gates and the Elevation Lounge. Has anyone tried to access the Aspire Lounge in a domestic itinerary?

Every time I’ve had a D gate domestic departure, it reminds me of how painfully stupid and awkward the link between the Main and International terminals is at YYC. It’s a big design fail for an otherwise pretty nice new terminal.

The seating at the swing gates is a crowded, random mess, and it’s all jammed in around the golf cart track, a single retail store, and some food outlet that looks like it’s from a 70s-era bus station. And to get between the two terminals, you have to walk along a wall that’s adjacent to that mess — it’s a corridor only because it’s the only open space.

I haven’t tried the D gates Aspire since that area went ‘domestic’, but the WestJet Elevation lounge is actually pretty well positioned for all A through D concourse gates. I’ve walked from the lounge to domestic flights at the D gates — it’s maybe 10 - 12 minutes. If you hop on the big golf cart shuttle, it shaves a few minutes off.

I just don't understand the Calgary airport.

FIrst off, why did they put in the pre-clearance?? WHY?? Pre-clearance is a waste of money and in my opinion a stupid option as it segments an airport and its facilities and is always a bigger hassle then clearing customs in the USA.

Second the golf cart?? The huge lane takes away valuable walking space and makes it harder to walk between terminals. Just get rid of that stupid golf cart.

I get that the airport is only running at 60%ish capacity because of Covid and lack of demand of passengers but it still feels crowded and awkward. I had an hour fifteen minute connection and I barely had 10 minutes in the lounge as it took me 20 minutes to walk to my gate and another 20 to walk back to my next gate Maybe its just me being cranky but I don't like the blocked off D and E areas combined with construction in A and the lack of airport maps. Even the YYC airport website doesn't have the proper airport maps.

Testify!

Best part as an Employee/Crew since the golf cart has returned after initial COVID shutdown: under NO circumstances are crew or employees allowed to ride it. EVEN IF there are empty seats. Sorry, aircraft aren't going anywhere without crew, ground agents and ground crew or Maintenance Engineers. Further idiotic management from YYC.

Of course if there are mobility impaired travelers they should take priority, but literally not permitted at all costs. You're welcome YYC for staffing the very few flights you had going during the height of the crisis - during those grim, dark days keeping some movement going.

There are no "international-only checks". If your international flight goes out of D76, you walk up to D76, give them your BP and ID, and board the plane. Doesn't matter whether there's a domestic flight next door at D78.

I couldn't disagree more. It is an absolute cluster. Ridiculously long walks are now normal. The constant elevation changes can be a nightmare for those with mobility issues. It has made a bad airport far worse.

I haven't, but it shouldn't matter, as long as you have access.

Most travellers consider pre-clearance to be an excellent service. Wait times at Canadian pre-clearance locations are often far below those at US airports, and they make onward connections a breeze - no need to worry about getting stuck in a 2-hour customs line when you're trying to fly YYC-SLC-MSY, for instance. I can't imagine how you think it's a bigger hassle to clear customs in Canada than in the US.

As for segmenting an airport, it's not at all hard to manage. Every major Canadian airport does it. Even with the current debacle at YYC, that's really not causing any issues. The problems are caused by the terrible design of the airport in general, the construction on the apron around the C gates, and COVID-related shutdowns (A gates, meep meeps) decided by YYC management.

Having just done a domestic departure from one of the D gates, I have to agree wholeheartedly with you and disagree with the comment to which you responded. The hike from the MLL is ridiculous. The YYC experience seems to just keep getting worse.

"WHY??" Seriously?
A key reason for pre-clearance is to allow operation of flights to US airports without CBP. Do you think flights to such destinations should be eliminated? That, for example, would eliminate every airport in Hawaii with the exception of Honolulu.

Preclearance is a gift. This way you are treated like a domestic U.S. flight for baggage collection and onward connections. Some U.S. airport lines can be 2-3 hours if you arrive at the same time as a crowded flight from Europe or Asia. A major disadvantage of Porter and Billy Bishop is no preclearance.

Are there reasons why the gates in the A pier are not in full use yet? I see that with the limited use of A gates, not only is WestJet using them exclusively, Flair and AC are also using them. Why not just have WS be the sole operator of the A pier like in 2019?

Flair, AC, Transat can probably share the B/C gates even with part of the C gates closed.

Also noteworthy to point out that YYC saw over 950K passengers in August and might be able to become Canada's 2nd busiest airport this year.

Anyone know what the airport plans to do with the space of the former Chinook Lounge (A pier)? Is WS going to build another lounge there?

I've heard from folks at AC that it's lack of airport staffing (i.e. the airport authority rather than the airlines). Take that for whatever you think it's worth.

The fact they're using any A gates at all makes me question the whole staffing excuse for why they can't be operated. It's not like they're only using A24; there are sometimes flights way out at A15 and A20. If they're operating flights from the far end of the pier, presumably they have to keep most of it maintained, clean, etc... So why not use the whole thing?

But remember that the people who run YYC have repeatedly demonstrated their vast incompetence for many years and it's not so surprising ;)

TS is running like 2 flights a week to YYC these days, so they really don't matter. Just send them to whatever are the least desirable gates to WS/AC. Flair's doing half a dozen or so per day. They maybe need access to two gates at peak time? But if the A pier fully reopened, I think Flair could probably just use B and the C pier could return to being completely AC, with B handling AC and spillover from WS. Given there are still quite a few fewer flights every day, it's really shocking how spread out across the terminal they are.

Updated the wiki to reflect ramp construction by the C pier being completed, all C gates in use, more A gates in use, A security appears to be open now but don't know about hours, and other details.

Thanks for the update. The construction on the ramp at C seemed to be finished as of about 2 weeks ago, but I wanted to get a bit better look at everything before posting an update. Unfortunately, I've been unexpectedly grounded since then.

I can't believe A is fully back in use. There's simply no need to use the 80/90 gates for domestic flights if it is.

As for touting the recent changes as positive, as usual, the idiots running the airport authority are, well, idiots. Items 2-4 on their list wouldn't be necessary if they didn't seem committed to this stupid setup of spreading domestic flights across the entire frigging airport. If it stays this way, not only will it be a never-ending nightmare to get around the place, it will be the end of sterile ITI connections, which only hurts everyone who uses the airport by reducing its attractiveness as a connection point.

This is how I see the discussions playing out in the airport authority offices:

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...5e020fc53.jpeg

I've updated the wiki with the latest hours for the security checkpoints. No changes except to add A, which is only open for a few hours in the morning.

Very few flights in and out of the A gates during the hours I was there, although one of the aircraft over there was an AC DH4 :rolleyes:

An AC concierge told me they're using the ex-E gates (now labelled as D84 and higher) and the A gates quite a bit less than before, but still fairly regularly, which is unfortunate.

I've also re-written parts of the wiki to eliminate some outdated info and clarify a few things.