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Montreal Metropolitan Airport will welcome its first commercial passengers today as Porter Airlines launches service from the South Shore hub.
A formal inauguration ceremony at the airport’s newly built terminal in Longueuil, Que., will mark the start of regular commercial operations, highlighted by the arrival of a Porter aircraft receiving a water salute from airport firefighters — a tradition in the aviation industry.
Local and provincial dignitaries, including Longueuil Mayor Catherine Fournier and Quebec Tourism Minister Amélie Dionne, are expected to attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Porter Airlines has invested hundreds of millions of dollars alongside infrastructure partner Macquarie to transform what was once known primarily as Saint-Hubert Airport into a commercial passenger hub.
Beginning Monday, Porter plans to operate domestically, offering 138 weekly flights. The hub has the capacity to handle four million passengers each year.
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A brand-new terminal is set to open in June at the Montreal Metropolitan Airport, formerly named Saint-Hubert Airport, in the Montreal suburb of Longueuil, Que. It will offer flights across Canada for the first time.
Porter chief executive Michael Deluce has described the facility as “Billy Bishop on steroids,” arguing its location on Montreal’s South Shore offers travellers a convenient alternative to Montreal’s Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport. The carrier predicts the airport could become one of the 10 busiest in Canada within two years.
Porter was launched in 2006 by Deluce’s father Robert — he remains the executive chairman — who used Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport as a base to offer service from the city’s downtown.
The ambitious expansion comes amid broader challenges facing the airline industry, including higher fuel costs which has pushed up ticket prices across the globe and threatened to reduce sales.
