aeroport metropolitain montreal will begin commercial operations on June 15 (ET), opening a new private terminal at Saint-Hubert to serve national and regional routes and relieve congestion at downtown airports. The project, described as a roughly $500 million private development, aims to carry about one million passengers in its first year, MET executives say. Porter Airlines and Pascan Aviation are the initial carriers lined up, with strict noise controls and a single-level terminal designed for rapid turnarounds.
Details and schedule
The terminal at Saint-Hubert will open on June 15 (ET) with scheduled domestic and regional flights, including planned connections to Toronto, Halifax and Vancouver operated primarily by Porter and regional routes by Pascan. The operator has built the terminal with an annual design capacity of four million passengers; its promoters expect roughly one million travelers in year one. Construction began with initial earthworks in August 2023 and the facility was developed as a private project without public subsidies.
Infrastructure choices are being used to limit local disturbance: managers selected quieter, single-aisle aircraft and will prohibit certain noisy types. Charles Roberge, chief executive officer of YHU Terminal, said, “There will be no night flights, ” and highlighted measures to control noise and speed passenger flow. He also outlined target processing times, including a goal of about 45 minutes for boarding and 15 to 20 minutes for exiting the terminal.
The new terminal will handle up to 40 flights per day initially, and Aéroports de Montréal will retain control of international gateways, which means no U. S. or sun-destination flights from Saint-Hubert in the short term. The project budget has been described in different ways in project material; the development is commonly framed as a half-billion-dollar initiative, while management cited a construction cost figure in the low hundreds of millions.
Aeroport Metropolitain Montreal: Reactions
Local and industry reaction is mixed. Simon-Pierre Diamond, vice-president of corporate affairs and communications at MET, framed the rollout as cautious and expandable: “It is a soft start that lets us welcome other carriers and expand our offer of destinations in the coming years, ” he said, linking the initial plan to a phased growth strategy. Diamond reiterated the one-million-passenger first-year target and the intention to add carriers over time.
John Gradek, an aviation expert and lecturer at McGill University, urged restraint on long-term expectations, questioning market depth for high-frequency cross-country services. He asked whether the market can sustain multiple daily routes to cities such as Halifax, Calgary and Vancouver and said the answer will depend on carrier strategy and demand patterns.
What’s next
With the June 15 (ET) inauguration imminent, airport managers will focus on initial operations, noise monitoring and courting additional carriers to expand the route map. MET and its partners plan to evaluate summer traffic and community impact, then decide on growth steps; international services are not a short-term option under current arrangements. The aeroport metropolitain montreal project will be measured by passenger throughput, carrier commitments and how effectively it reduces pressure at the region’s other airports in the months after opening, with local residents and aviation planners watching closely.
