RICHMOND (NEWS 1130) – Expect a lot of delays if you’re heading to the airport today, this weekend, and every weekend for the next month.

Thanks to the new outlet mall on Sea Island, traffic has been backed up heading to the terminal. Yesterday, one flight was delayed because of the traffic chaos.

Steve Hankinson, YVR’s VP of operations, says the airport had a traffic plan, but more people than expected showed up for the outlet mall’s grand opening yesterday.

“What we saw demand that exceeded our expectations. Lots of people were excited to come and shop at the outlet centre. So, we had to make adjustments to our plans, working closely with our partners… We changed plans in order to accommodate the extra demand,” he explains.

“We have more RCMP, additional members of our traffic management team on the ground, and additional buses,” adds Hankinson.

If you’re heading to YVR today, be ready for possible delays. Hankinson suggests travellers check with their airlines before heading to the airport and consider taking transit.

“Check with your airline to see if your flight is on time. Contemplate taking the Canada Line; it is absolutely the most efficient way to get to YVR. But if you are driving, give yourself a little bit more time and tune in to traffic on NEWS 1130 in order to hear what the latest traffic situation is as you head to YVR.”

These traffic headaches may be the norm for weekend travel for the next month.

“We anticipate that there is strong interest over the next four weekends…. every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, there would be increased traffic to YVR because of the outlet centre. But also it’s summer; it’s a heavy travel periods for families and individuals. What we want to do is ensure that we’ve minimized any potential delays so that… those flying can get to their flight on time without delay,” says Hankinson.

For up to the minute traffic updates, you can follow us on Twitter @NEWS1130Traffic or subscribe to breaking news alerts sent directly to your inbox. You can also listen live to traffic reports every 10 minutes on the ones.