Mirabel Airport Brochure

Nicole: 3rd Aug 2009 - 17:27 GMT

Wow, what a great pamphlet! So detailed! I spent a lot of time in that airport. It was a noisy place. Thanks for sharing this with us.

Franny Wentzel: 6th Aug 2009 - 03:36 GMT

As hopeful as this brochure was... it turned out that Mirabel wasn't really needed in the long run for a number of reasons. The link with the city's mass transit system was never built which made the hour or more drive into the countryside that much more irritating.

A dropoff in air traffic due to international airlines and many local business going to Toronto occured over the years and public pressure not only kept the more convenient Dorval International open but encouraged its development over Mirabel. By 2004 the last of the passenger airlines had ditched Mirabel and only air cargo, a medivac service as well as a couple aircraft manufacturers survive on the one runway left open for business.

The terminal was used for scenes in a Tom Hanks movie call of all things 'The Terminal'. Current plans are to convert part of the airport into a race track - which is projected to attract enough private jet traffic to justify investment from a fixed base operations company.

YMXguy: 25th Aug 2009 - 01:09 GMT

Thanks for the great post Franny! I work for a small airline based at Mirabel, and it just infuriates me to see this great facility go to waste. The race track is already built and it takes over 2/3rds of the once huge apron. The Control Tower is still in use, although it is staffed by FSS instead of ATC's. In my mind they should finish highway 13 and do the rail link the airport was supposed to get from the beginning. I really can't understand Aéroports de Montréal's (ADM) logic in still pouring billions into Trudeau (Dorval), when the same money could be used much more effectively in transferring all airport ops to Mirabel, and have a real airport for Montreal which can compete head-to-head with Toronto. Because Trudeau is amidst the city, the airport has a very strict night curfew which causes many headaches for airlines, whereas Toronto's curfew is much more flexible. Finally, what is really ludicrous is the fact that despite recent investments, Dorval is not going to last forever and ADM will be forced to re-open Mirabel again eventually. What I don't understand is why not do it now while investment would be relatively less than in 10-15 years from now (maybe sooner) when Dorval is completely obsolete and ineffective. To make matters worse, ADM really foiled the original plans by allowing Bombardier to build a plant where another terminal should have been, and now Pratt & Whitney will also take a lot of land that could have been used for Air Canada's hangars for example. And even if there is interest by AMT to build trackage to Mirabel, ADM seems poised in accelerating the degradation of Mirabel. Very sad and truly idiotic when you think of it. How can the government allow such mis-management of public property?

Franny Wentzel: 25th Aug 2009 - 01:34 GMT

How can the government allow such mis-management of public property?

Because it's The Government... that's what they do.