Good morning, Madam Chair, and thank you for the opportunity to speak to the committee today.
Large Canadian airports are managed by local, not-for-profit organizations. Under this unique model, we receive no government funding and are not beholden to shareholders. We reinvest all profits back into our airports.
At YVR, Vancouver International Airport, this model is underpinned by our commitment to our neighbouring communities. This includes managing airport noise to balance the need for safe, convenient 24-hour air travel with enjoyable urban living.
It's our mandate to provide economic and social benefits to the people of British Columbia and operate the airport in the best interest of the region, while keeping safety as our first priority.
YVR is a key economic generator for the region. We facilitate $16.5 billion in total economic output and $8.5 billion in total GDP. Last year, we welcomed more than 24 million passengers. We are also home to 24,000 jobs at the airport.
Vancouver Airport Authority's ground lease with the federal government requires us to manage noise associated with airport operations within 10 nautical miles of the airport. We do so through a comprehensive noise management program, which has a number of core elements: a five-year noise management plan, stakeholder engagement, maintaining noise abatement procedures, noise monitoring and flight tracking, and providing information to answer community questions and concerns.
We're currently updating the five-year noise management plan, and that will go to Transport Canada by year-end. To do so, we engaged residents and stakeholders for their input to customize initiatives for our region. While the core elements are common, each solution must cater to individual airports' unique and local issues and conditions.
As you realize, aircraft noise can be quite technical, but really there are three main ways of addressing it: the aircraft itself; when, where and how the aircraft flies; and the residents, where they live and the environment in which they live.
Looking at the aircraft itself is about reducing noise at the source. Aircraft noise and emissions certification standards are set by ICAO, and the aircraft must meet these standards to operate in Canada.
Over the years, the airlines have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in upgrading their fleets. These aircraft are cleaner and quieter, producing less noise and less emissions.
Secondly, we look at the operating procedures and noise control procedures. This is the part that relates to where and how the airplanes fly. Airports have noise abatement procedures that include night restrictions and preferential runway use. Nav Canada manages the airspace and has procedures to minimize flights over populated areas. The airlines train their crews to fly community-friendly.
The third area we can focus on is the receiver, the person, where they live and what they expect. We work with local cities to manage, through land use planning, the number of people living in high-noise areas. YVR supports the Transport Canada guidelines that discourage non-compatible land use in areas close to airports.
How are we doing? In 1998, we had 369,000 aircraft landings and takeoffs and welcomed 15.5 million passengers. Last year, we had 39,000 fewer aircraft landings and takeoffs and almost 9 million more passengers. To put that in perspective, that's 50% more passengers and 10% less aircraft movement compared to 20 years ago, and all of those operations are with quieter aircraft.
As for noise complaints, in 2017 we received 1,293 noise concerns from 253 people. Four individuals were responsible for 64% of our complaints, two of whom live more than 23 kilometres from the airport. For comparison, the greater Vancouver region has about 2.8 million people.
With respect to night operations, 3% of our total annual runway movements occur between midnight and 6 a.m., an average of 27 operations per night in 2017. These flights are a mix of passenger and courier services. To manage the noise from the night operations, we have procedures and restrictions in place, including an approval process for jet aircraft departures, the closure of our north runway between specified hours, and preferential runway use to keep aircraft landings and takeoffs over the water, where possible.
Our survey results show that we have the community support to grow our air services so long as we continue to manage aircraft noise. We have been successful in doing so within the strong federal framework in place and the flexibility to apply local solutions.
Thank you for the opportunity to share why we are successful today.
We would be happy to answer any questions.