The white elephant airport that was once the world's largest
In short: Imagine an airport so massive it was designed to be the world's largest by surface area. Built to be Canada's premier gateway, it instead became a victim of political friction, shifting economics, and a logistical nightmare that forced travelers into hour-long bus rides between terminals.
In the 1960s, Montreal experienced an economic boom, but its airport infrastructure struggled to keep pace. To solve this, the federal government planned a massive new facility at the St. Scholastique site. The project was so ambitious that it required the expropriation of 39,250 hectares—an area larger than the entire city of Montreal. Mirabel would have occupied the greatest global surface area if the project had finished, despite 32,780 hectares returning to previous proprietors during 1989.
The project was hamstrung by political and logistical hurdles. While the federal government wanted a site near Ottawa and Montreal, Quebec Premier Robert Bourassa resisted placing it near the provincial border. Furthermore, the ambitious TRAMM rapid transit system, intended to connect the airport to the city at speeds of 100 to 120 km/h, never received funding and remained on the drawing board. This left travelers relying on inadequate roads, making the trip to Mirabel take 50 minutes compared to just 20 minutes for the existing Dorval airport.
The airport's decline was accelerated by the rise of long-range jets that no longer needed to refuel in Montreal. Additionally, a unique and flawed policy required international flights to use Mirabel while domestic flights stayed at Dorval. This forced international passengers to endure hour-long bus rides to connect with domestic flights, causing many airlines to bypass Montreal for Toronto entirely. By 1991, Mirabel and Dorval combined handled only 8 million passengers, while Toronto Pearson handled 18.5 million. Mirabel was eventually relegated to a cargo hub, with its last commercial passenger flight departing in 2004.
Today, the site serves as a manufacturing plant for Airbus, where the A220 is assembled, and hosts medevac and general aviation flights. The former passenger terminal has been demolished, and its apron has been converted into a racing course.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Montréal–Mirabel International Airport
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