Officials at Vancouver International Airport say the airport is ready for the expected crush of travelers coming for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games. (Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press)

Officials at Vancouver International Airport say they are prepared for the crush of travellers expected during the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Plans are in place to speed passengers and baggage through the airport, including construction of a temporary remote terminal to handle departing athletes, their families and other Olympic personnel.

Airport staff have been told to expect a record 39,000 people and 77,000 pieces of luggage on March 1, the day after the Olympic closing ceremonies, said Vancouver Airport Authority's Paul Levy.

The airport authority has spent $30 million on a centralized de-icing setup and bought 10 additional pieces of snow-removal equipment to reduce the amount of time it takes to clear a runway.

More than 400 volunteers will be available to help Olympic travellers, in addition to more than 650 Olympic staff members working at the airport before and during the Games.

The airport normally handles about 100 corporate planes a day in addition to regular passenger aircraft, but officials expect that figure to balloon to 200 to 300 corporate flights daily during the Games, said airport operations vice-president Don Ehrenholz.