Long weekend travellers kept B.C. Ferries busy over the Thanksgiving holiday, with many sailings at capacity.
Passengers travelling without reservations experienced up to three-sailing waits Monday afternoon.
The Swartz Bay to Tsawwassen run was the busiest, with three-sailing waits persisting into the early evening, before easing to two-sailing waits around 6 p.m.
Two-sailing waits were posted in the late afternoon and evening for Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay.
Walk-on passengers normally don’t experience sailing waits, but the Thanksgiving long weekend is one of the few weekends in the year when it may happen. B.C. Ferries advised walk-on passengers to arrive 45 to 60 minutes ahead of their desired departure.
B.C. Ferries wasn’t able to confirm whether walk-on passengers experienced waits.
Monday is the most popular travel day of the Thanksgiving long weekend, with traffic returning to the mainland from Swartz Bay, Departure Bay and Langdale.
B.C. Ferries added 93 sailings, with 74 between Swartz Bay and Tsawwassen, the most popular route. Thirteen sailings were added between Departure Bay and Horseshoe Bay, and six between Langdale and Horseshoe Bay.
The busy weekend played out as expected, with no major hiccups, said Tessa Humphries, B.C. Ferries communications manager.
