Home Montreal-Saint Hubert Montreal-Trudeau Montreal-Mirabel Greater Montreal About References

Montreal Mirabel Airport

In the same situation that led to Dorval being built to succeed Saint-Hubert Airport, the federal government decided that Montreal needed a new airport to serve its growing needs. Several sites were considered in Vaudreuil, Drummondville, Ste-Scholastique, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Joliette, and Saint-Amable. The Quebec government, led by Robert Bourassa, preferred Drummondville (100 kilometers away from Montreal), while the federal government, led by Pierre Eliott Trudeau, preferred Vaudreuil. Eventually, a compormise was reached and they decided to build the airport in Sainte-Scholastique, 60 kilometers away from the city center. The amount of land that was expropriated was an area that was larger than the city of Montreal. This was done because the federal government envisioned Mirabel as a mega-airport that would be among the busiest in the world.
Montreal/Mirabel Airport
Reference: http://www.airports-worldwide.com/canada/quebec/montreal-mirabel_international_quebec.php

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 Terminal
Reference: http://www.worldabandoned.com/montreal-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.

Mirabel Terminal
Reference: http://digital-possibilities.com/blog/what-mobile-applications-can-learn-from-montreals-mirabel-airport/

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.

Mirabel Terminal before it was torn down
Reference: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/mirabel-airport-terminal-trudeau-s-white-elephant-to-be-torn-down-1.2628421

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

Source: Canada Flight Supplement
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