The region incorporating The Islands, Vancouver Coast & Mountains, Thompson Okanagan, BC Rockies, Cariboo Country and Northern B.C. includes terrain that is remote and isolated, with no access by road. Many of these great outdoor locations can only be reached by landing a floatplane on a nearby lake or ocean inlet. Air services can get you to these fantasy destinations – what you do when you get there is limited only by your time and imagination!
Most destinations in British Columbia can be accessed domestically by Westjet and Air Canada. In addition to major airline connections, a number of regional airlines provide scheduled and charter flights by float plane, helijet and helicopter between the BC mainland, Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands, and Washington State.
Flights arrive daily at Victoria International Airport (YYJ) from Vancouver and Seattle. Victoria International Airport is Vancouver Island’s largest airport and is located near Sidney, a 30-minute drive north of downtown Victoria. Airports served by major airlines to other island communities are Campbell River Airport (YBL), Comox Valley Airport (YQQ), Nanaimo Airport (YCD) and Port Hardy Airport (YZT). Air service between mainland BC, Washington State, and Vancouver Island is frequent and extensive.
Major airlines offer frequent, scheduled flights to Nanaimo Airport from Vancouver and Seattle. Nanaimo Airport is located 15 minutes south of the downtown area and serves flights daily between Nanaimo and Vancouver, Abbotsford, and Langley. Airport shuttle services, taxis and car rental agencies are available from the airports.
One can travel in true island style by harbour-to-harbour seaplane or helicopter – downtown Vancouver to downtown Victoria – but the real adventure begins by soaring high in a chartered floatplane and splashing down on an isolated inlet or far-flung wilderness lake in remote British Columbia.
Airports in British Columbia and Canada
Airlines in British Columbia and Canada
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Air Canada / Jazz
Services run from Abbotsford, Campbell River, Castlegar, Comox, Cranbrook, Fort Nelson, Fort St. John, Kamloops, Kelowna, Nanaimo, Penticton, Prince George, Prince Rupert, Quesnel, Sandspit, Smithers, Terrace, Vancouver, Victoria, and Williams Lake, with connections to other regular domestic flights throughout Canada, flights to the USA, and international flights.
Tel: 1-888-247-2262; 250-360-9074
Air Nootka
Floatplane operation based out of Gold River serves the west coast of Vancouver Island in the Nootka and Kyuquot Sound areas, offering scheduled and charter services, and scenic flights. Services run from Gold River, Vancouver, Victoria, Nanaimo, Comox, Campbell River, Tahsis, Zeballos, Kyuquot, and other remote destinations on West Coast Vancouver Island.
Tel: 1-877-795-2255; 250-283-2255 (Gold River)
Air North
Scheduled and charter flights throughout Yukon, Northwest Territories and Alaska. Whitehorse Yukon flights to and from Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Kelowna and Fairbanks (summer seasonal service), Dawson City, Old Crow and Inuvik.
Tel: 1-800-661-0407; 1-867-668-2228.
Airspeed Aviation
Services run from Victoria and Abbotsford. Serving Victoria and the Fraser Valley for over 24 years.
Tel: 1-866-359-6837
Tel: Abbotsford 604-852-9245; Victoria 250-655-4300
Alaska Airlines
Services run from Victoria, Vancouver, Kelowna, Calgary and Edmonton.
Tel: 1-800-ALASKAAIR (1-800-252-7522)
Alkan Air
Serving the Yukon and Western Canada for over 30 years. Charter service from Whitehorse to Northern and Interior B.C.
Tel: 1-867-668-2107
Alpha Executive Air
Scheduled airline service from Delta Boundary Bay Airport to Victoria, and charter service to communities of Whistler, Vancouver Island, the Vancouver Lower Mainland, and the Thompson Okanagan.
Tel: 1-888-947-2007
Baxter Aviation – See West Coast Air
Central Mountain Air
Bases in Smithers, Vancouver, and Calgary. with scheduled and charter flights to over 17 communities in British Columbia (Campbell River, Comox, Fort Nelson, Fort St. John, Dawson Creek, Kamloops, Kelowna, Prince George, Quesnel, Smithers, Terrace, Vancouver, Williams Lake) and Alberta (Calgary, Edmonton, High Level, Lloydminster, Rainbow Lake). Charter services throughout BC and Alberta.
Tel: 1-888-865-8585
Eagle Air Service
Charter passenger and freight services on both scheduled and chartered flights in and out of Port Hardy, Campbell River, Bella Bella and Vancouver.
Tel: 1-866-949-515; 604-233-8880
Era Aviation
Services run from Whitehorse to Anchorage, including Fairbanks, Bethel, Cordova, Homer, Valdez, Kenai, and Kodiak . Spectacular flightseeing tours throughout Alaska.
Tel: 1-800-866-8394
FLY
Specializing in flights from Sechelt to Victoria and more!
Air Taxi – Flight Instruction – Scenic Tours.
Tel: 604-740-1022
Harbour Air
Frequent service between the Lower Mainland and the islands, with 8 destinations in British Columbia: Vancouver, Vancouver Intl Airport, Victoria, Nanaimo, Langley, and the BC Gulf Islands (including Ganges on Saltspring Island).
Tel: 1-800-665-0212; 604-274-1277
HawkAir
Provides convenient daily schedules from Prince Rupert, Terrace-Kitimat and Smithers-Houston to the South Terminal in Vancouver.
Tel: 1-800-487-1216: 250-635-4295
Helijet Airways
Scheduled service between Victoria Harbour, Vancouver Harbour and Vancouver International Airport, and schedules daily flight between Nanaimo and Vancouver. Charters available from Vancouver to Whistler.
Tel: 1-800-665-4354 (Passengers); 1-800-987-4354 (Charter)
Horizon Air
Services run from Vancouver, Victoria, and Seattle with connections to other regular domestic and International flights. Operated by Alaska Airlines.
Tel: 1-800-547-9308
Island Express Air
Island Express Air is a locally owned and operated Lower Mainland air carrier based in Abbotsford, providing scheduled service to Abbotsford, Vancouver, Victoria, Comox Valley, Nanaimo, and Boundary Bay, and charter service to destinations around British Columbia, Canada and the United States.
Toll Free: 1-888-856-6260
Phone: 604-856-6260
Kenmore Air
Seattle-based air transportation to destinations throughout Western Washington and British Columbia, operating on both a scheduled and a charter basis. Services run from Victoria and Seattle, with seasonal flights to Nanaimo, Campbell River, Desolation Sound, and the Gulf Islands. Scheduled service between Seattle and the Tofino-Ucluelet Airport. Kenmore Air, the largest seaplane operator in the US, also operates land-based aircraft.
Tel: 1-866-435-9524; 1-866-359-2842
K.D. Air
Locations in the South Terminal of Vancouver International Airport, and Qualicum Beach Airport on Vancouver Island. Operating daily scheduled flights to and from Vancouver Island and Texada Island. Links between Vancouver, Port Alberni, Gillies Bay (Texada), Parksville, Qualicum and other coastal communities throughout BC..
Tel: 1-800-665-4244; 604-688-9957
Lakes District Air Services
Lakes District Air provides aircraft charter services in Northwestern BC. Bases are located in Burns Lake and Nimpo Lake. Our aircraft include 2 DHC2 Beaver floatplanes, a Cessna 185 floatplane, and a Cessna 182 wheel plane. Charters, sightseeing, fly-out fishing and hiking are all available.
Tel: 1-866-235-2155; 250-692-3229
Northern Hawk Aviation
Privately-owned Vancouver based airline with scheduled and charter services throughout BC, inlcuding; Abbotsford, Bella Bella, Nanaimo, Port Hardy, Powell River, Tofino/Ucluelet, Trail, Vancouver, and Vernon, and Calgary in Alberta.
Tel: 1-866-225-8181; 604-222-8132
NW Seaplanes
Scheduled and charter seaplane service from South Lake Washington, in the heart of Seattle, to the San Juan Islands, Vancouver Island, and BC’s Inside Passage. Regularly serving April Point, Big Bay, Blind Channel, Campbell River, Dawsons Landing, Dent Island, Desolation Sound, Echo Bay, Greenway Sound, Hakai Pass, Pierres Bay, Port McNeill, Port Hardy, Rivers Inlet, Sullivan Bay, and Vancouver. Call for additional destinations.
Tel: 1-800-690-0086
Pacific Coastal Airlines
Scheduled service to/from Vancouver International Airport’s South Terminal: Anahim Lake, Bella Bella, Bella Coola, Campbell River, Comox, Cranbrook, Kamloops, Masset, Penticton, Port Hardy, Powell River, Trail, Victoria, and Williams Lake. There is also a service between Calgary and Penticton, and Port Hardy’s float plane division serves some nearby smaller communities.
Tel: 1-800-663-2872
SaltSpring Air
SaltSpring Air is a locally owned airline based out of Ganges on Saltspring Island, British Columbia offering a scheduled seaplane service between Saltspring Island, Vancouver International Airport (YVR), Downtown Vancouver/ Vancouver Harbour, and Maple Bay on Vancouver Island. Saltspring Air also provides seaplane flights to the many Gulf Islands. Charter flights and scenic sightseeing flights are available to any destination throughout the west coast of British Columbia.
Tel: 1-877-537-9880 or 250-537-9880.
Sunshine Coast Air
Sunshine Coast Air is located in Sechelt on the BC Sunshine Coast, providing scheduled service from Sechelt to Victoria (Pat Bay) and Nanaimo.
Sechelt Tel: 604-740-8889 and 1-888-436-7776 Toll Free
Nanaimo Tel: 250-591-1810 and 1-877-461-5749 Toll Free
Tofino Air
Scheduled flights serving the BC Sunshine Coast (Sechelt), Vancouver Island (Victoria, Nanaimo), BC Gulf Islands, and the BC Lower Mainland through the South Terminal at YVR Vancouver International Airport. Also offering charter flights and scenic flights, including Hot Springs Cove and Clayoquot Sound.
Tel: 1-866-486-3247
Vancouver Island Air
Service from Campbell River serving many of the more remote communities of coastal British Columbia on a daily basis. Scheduled seaplane service destinations from Campbell River: Blind Channel, Burial Cove, Caviar Cove, Echo Bay, Farewell Harbour, Glendale Cove, Greenway Sound, Kingcome Inlet, Lagoon Cove, Pierre’s Bay, Port Neville, and Sullivan Bay. Also offering float plane flightseeing. Twice daily service during peak months (April to October).
Tel: 250-287-2433
West Coast Air
Scheduled floatplane services from Vancouver Downtown to Victoria Harbour (Downtown)and Nanaimo Downtown. Charter flights out of Vancouver, Nanaimo, Victoria or Sechelt for group scenic tours, fishing and adventure trips, business site inspections, and cargo.
Tel: 1-800-347-2222; 604-606-6888
WestJet Airlines Ltd
Based in Calgary, Alberta, WestJet serves Vancouver, Victoria, Kamloops, Kelowna, Prince George, Comox, Abbotsford, Fort St. John and Nanaimo, plus non-stop services out of Vancouver to Victoria and to Fort St. John. Scheduled service in Canada operates to Calgary, Charlottetown, Edmonton, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, Halifax, Hamilton, London, Moncton, Montreal, Ottawa, Regina, Saskatoon, St. John’s, Thunder Bay, Toronto, Windsor, and Winnipeg, and to the USA (Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Orlando, Palm Springs, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco, Tampa, and Dallas-Fort Worth), with a service from Toronto to Myrtle Beach in South Carolina.
Tel: 1-800-538-5696; 403-444-2301
