Montreal Mirabel airport opened its doors on October 4th, 1975. The government was under pressure to open the airport before the 1976 Olympics took place in the city. In opening this airport, Montreal had two operational airports: this one and Dorval. To ensure a smooth transition to Mirabel, flights were going to be transferred in two stages. The first stage was transferring the international flights to Mirabel, as it was the bigger airport and better suited to handle those aircraft. Later on, the remainder of the flights were to be transferred to Mirabel.
Mirabel was busy for its first year in operation, but after the 1976 Olympics, the unimaginable happened: traffic began to dwindle. This was caused for a multitude of reasons. First, the newer planes were able fo fly for longer distances, therefore no longer needing to stop in Montreal for fuel. Secondly, the location of the airport scared off airlines. Airlines did not like the fact that Mirabel was far from downtown Montreal and they also did not appreciate having to send passengers on a 45 minute ride to switch airports if they needed to take a connecting flight. Those airlines overflew Montreal for Toronto-Pearson Airport as it had a better faclilty and better connections. This decline would continue well into the 1990's, and it would also be a contributing factor to the decline in Montreal's economy during this time period.
With growing public pressure to abandon Mirabel, the government finally decided to allow international carriers to use Dorval again. The airlines that previously used Mirabel then shifted their operations to Dorval. Mirabel was now a ghost airport, as only a handful of airlines, most notably Air Transat, still remained. With traffic dwindling even more, the decision was made to move the remaining passenger flights to Dorval, effectively closing Mirabel to passengers. Mirabel was now a cargo airport, as it only dealt with cargo aircraft.
Today, Mirabel has other uses. Firstly, used to test Bombardier's new aircraft, the C-Series. These planes are assembles at Mirabel, and once assembles they are tested at the airport. Part of the old apron used to service aircraft has been turned into a race car track for I-CAR. Cargair, a flight school, has begun opeartions from Mirabel airport in light of them losing their base at the former Mascouche airport. The former passenger terminal does not exist, as it was demolished in 2016.
Airport Information
| Montreal/Mirabel Airport | |
|---|---|
| ICAO code | CYMX |
| Owner/Operator |
Owner: Transport Canada Operator: Aeroports de Montreal |
| Runways | 2 ashpalt runways: 11/29, 06/24 |
| Aircraft Movements (2014) | 38 566 |
| Elevation | 271 feet MSL |
| Address |
12 300 rue Service A4 Mirabel, Québec J7N 1E8 Canada |