YVR targets Vietnam and South America for new direct routes
Airport CEO says geopolitical shifts create once-in-a-generation opportunity to expand trade hub role.
Vancouver International Airport is aggressively pursuing new direct routes to Vietnam and South America, betting that geopolitical shifts in global trade flows create a rare opening for the region.
During her address to the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade earlier this spring, YVR President and CEO Tamara Vrooman laid out the airport's strategic thinking: as shippers seek alternatives to routes disrupted by instability in the Middle East, Asia cargo is rerouting through Vancouver on its way to North America and Europe. The opportunity is to lock in that traffic with dedicated air service.
Vietnam represents the strongest near-term prospect. YVR handled 58,000 passengers to Vietnam in 2025 — all of them connecting through Singapore, since Canada currently has no direct flights to Vietnam. That existing demand, combined with substantial air-cargo trade between Western Canada and Vietnam in high-value goods, already justifies direct service, Vrooman argues. Air Canada has expressed interest in launching routes to Ho Chi Minh City, and Vietnam Airlines identified YVR as a potential destination in early 2025.
For South America, Lima, Peru emerged as the top priority. Currently, passengers and freight to South America from Vancouver have to connect through Toronto. Vrooman framed new routes as essential infrastructure for Vancouver's growing mining and resource sector — particularly following Anglo American's recent merger with Teck Resources, which moved a major corporate headquarters to the city.
"If we're wanting to attract and grow these kinds of local businesses in and around the bridge function of Vancouver, we need to have this level of connectivity that they expect," she said.
Vrooman emphasized the urgency. "What they also made clear was that they can't wait," she said of international partners. "While their first preference is to grow and partner with us, they can't wait. And so, we need to be ready and able to receive the investments."
The push is part of a broader YVR ambition to double its freight-cargo business to 730,000 tonnes per year by 2030 — up from 365,000 tonnes handled in 2025. Even a single weekly flight can generate $54 million in annual economic activity and up to $500 million in cargo shipments, according to Vrooman. For a region competing globally for business investment and talent, that math is compelling.