Vancouver International Airport

Avoid Landmark (Shell) at all costs, outrageous ramp fee ($80 plus HST) for a C182 and when my passenger needed to go to the terminal, everyone was too busy to take him there in their van, they did phone for a cab though. Use Millionair, they know what service is.

I know it can be rough for residents, but in most cases, the airports were there first and the cities have grown out and around them, so the people who buy the houses or sign the leases do so knowing that there's an airport nearby.

Of course, that assumes that real-estate agents are honest — I know one couple who bought a house right under the approach to CYYZ 24L, after being assured by their slimy agent that the airport used the runway only for emergencies (I guess the definition of "emergency" is "when the wind is blowing from the southwest"). It was cool for their kids watching the planes passing low over the park playground, though.

YVR's website indicates that international airports are 24 hour operations in Canada. However if you look at Toronto's departure schedule, you will see that traffic generally stops at 1:30am and resumes at 6:00am In Vancouver we have flights leaving up to and including 3 am with only a three hour lull to 6 am. Our airport is smack dab in the heart of our cities. Convenient but not for sleep.

According to the Canada Flight Supplement (AIP), runway 26A is actually part of taxiway A, available for VMC day departures only, when runway 26L is active. Apparently, that means smaller aircraft are allowed to take off straight from the taxiway instead of waiting in line for the big runway. There's no corresponding 08A, but if the wind's almost always blowing in off the ocean on a VMC day, it wouldn't be that useful anyway.

Reply to @YHZ: Great news! Now if only Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax, etc. could follow suit and link their light rail to their main airports.