A new terminal and a hotel for Saint-Hubert airport
The investment by Porter Aviation and Holiday Inn should significantly strengthen the role of the Saint-Hubert airport in domestic air transport in Quebec.
Over $200 million in private funds will be invested in Saint-Hubert airport, in particular by the carrier Porter and the hotelier Holiday Inn, in order to provide the terminal with a new terminal and a 130-room hotel.
Eventually, the airport could accommodate up to 4 million passengers per year.
The new nine-gate terminal, which will cover an area of 40,000 square meters to the east of the airport, is due to be completed by the end of 2024. Work will begin in the spring.
The terminal that Porter will build at the Saint-Hubert airport will have nine boarding platforms.
Toronto airline Porter, which will set up operations at Saint-Hubert airport, plans to serve major Canadian cities, in addition to connecting with regional carrier Pascan. This should allow passengers from the regions of Quebec to reach major Canadian cities more easily. About ten departures per day should therefore be added to the airport's air traffic.
Other regional carriers are soon to add links with Saint-Hubert airport, management assures.
A 130-room hotel complex from the American Holiday chain Inn will also be built on the site to provide accommodation for travelers and airline personnel.
Quebec Minister of Transport, Geneviève Guilbault, also came to attend this announcement which, according to her, strengthens regional air transport in Quebec.
Opened in 1927, Saint-Hubert Airport was the first civilian airport in Canada. The airfield, which has also long been used for the military, now houses private flight schools, regional airlines as well as the National School of Aerotechnics and the Canadian Space Agency.
< p class="e-p">Airport users will also benefit from a free electric shuttle system every 30 minutes that will connect the site to the Longueuil – Université de Sherbrooke metro station.
The purpose of this investment led by Montreal – Saint-Hubert Airport (YHU) is to make the current airport a hub in the metropolitan area for regional air service, in addition to rallying companies in the sector, schools of piloting, university research labs, carriers and travelers, promises management.
“With this terminal, Saint-Hubert airport is resolutely turning towards passenger transport and allows our metropolis to enhance its air services. »
— Yanic Roy, General Manager of Montreal – Saint-Hubert Airport
Despite the construction of these new infrastructures, the airport of Saint-Hubert will only be able to accommodate domestic flights. Only Montreal-Trudeau and Mirabel airports are authorized by the federal government to receive flights from abroad in the Montreal area.
The presence of an airport near the residential sectors of the Longueuil agglomeration posing a major problem of tranquility for the people who live in the area, the new terminal will be closed at night and will only be served by one of the quietest single-aisle aircraft, also promised the General Manager of Montreal – Saint-Hubert Airport, Yanic Roy.
Flights of goods (cargo) are also ruled out of the project.
Porter promises to use only Dash-8 and Embraer E195 aircraft, known to be among the quietest on the market.
Members of the Coalition halte-air Saint-Hubert demonstrated against this expansion project from Saint-Hubert airport.
For the president of the Longueuil aircraft anti-pollution committee, Mathieu Péladeau, the announcement of an increase in air traffic in the sector is not good news. This announcement breaks, according to him, with the green technological vision that the City and the management of the airport had presented to the citizens last January.
We are bringing a new airport that will bring tourism, flights with nine terminal gates that will be put in place, a hotel… This contradicts the vision that the City presented to us last month. For us, it's a bit appalling, actually.
“We are protesting to have an improvement in the quality of life and this morning's project adds air traffic to us. »
— Mathieu Péladeau, President of the Longueuil Aircraft Anti-Pollution Committee
The Mayor of Longueuil, Catherine Fournier, has pledged to follow up rigorous activities related to the airport in order to preserve the quality of life of the citizens of the South Shore.
We are talking here about the quality of life of citizens which is so important and which is respected by the development which is announced today, declared the mayor at a press conference.
“We are working together with various partners to establish a rigorous monitoring mechanism for the noise environment, and the airport will be part of our table of partners. »
—Catherine Fournier, Mayor of Longueuil
For several years, the activities of the Saint-Hubert airport have created friction with the residents of the area due to aircraft noise.
In June 2010, the The airport has had to ban flights on Sundays on its main runway and impose certain restrictions on other days of the week due to the flood of complaints generated in particular by flight school planes flying over the area at low altitude.
In August 2018, the airport inaugurated a new main runway capable of handling large aircraft such as Airbus A220/320 and Boeing 737-200. A year later, more than 300 residents of Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville filed a petition to complain about noise pollution.
Last February, the City of Longueuil and airport management announced that they have reached a landmark agreement to mitigate noise pollution to which residents are exposed. One of the main measures is the prohibition of commercial flights between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.
