Delayed REM station, saturated car landing stage, number of boarding gates soon to be insufficient: the Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau international airport is accumulating challenges and a lot of work is needed, recognizes its CEO, Philippe Rainville. In interview with The dutythe one who leaves his post at the end of the summer, after six years at the helm, pleads for the financing structure of the aging airport to be modified in order to help it change its face.
From the glazed room where he meets The duty, the director of Aéroports de Montréal (ADM) has a good view of the various current and future projects. Straight ahead, a large hole is on the site of the future REM station. “The digging will be finished soon. We are finishing the station in the spring of 2026, if all goes well. Afterwards, the REM will need time to dock, so it will be in service in 2027,” said Mr. Rainville.
It’s almost three years later than expected. The pandemic compromised the station’s funding for about a year, as ADM’s revenue plummeted. It also forced the closure of construction sites for health reasons. “I would have liked that, cut the ribbon”, regrets laughingly the one who piloted the file during these stormy times.
In the meantime, getting to the airport is not always a cakewalk. “When the highway was blocked last weekend, there was no longer access to the airport. For a [métropole] of 4 million inhabitants, it’s nonsense not to have more buses or direct links”, deplores the frank and warm manager.
It designates the automobile wharf, where cars circulate to drop off travelers. “He is at capacity. There are so many people who arrive here on Friday evening that it drives back on the highway, ”he illustrates. Renovation work will probably begin next year. A new 3,000-space parking lot must also be built; another, obsolete, will be destroyed.
“Green” future, pivotal moment
The plans for all this new development, built around the REM station, must be unveiled by the next CEO of ADM, whose identity has not yet been announced. “It’s going to be green, it’s going to be architecturally very pretty,” says Mr. Rainville, who will deliver a speech Wednesday noon before the Council on International Relations of Montreal, CORIM.
No question of destroying the glass facade or removing the large letters proudly displaying the name of the metropolis, whose “O” is transformed according to events. This week, it takes on the appearance of a daffodil. These elements “ vintage are more and more popular, believes Mr. Rainville.
The outgoing CEO of ADM believes, however, that to meet the growing demand for international flights, a dozen additional boarding gates will have to be built. The lack will be felt from 2028, he believes. Construction should therefore begin very soon.
But something blocks: the lack of financial means. It is no longer possible for the organization to borrow and go into debt as in the past, since it already has a debt of $2.9 billion. The loss caused by the pandemic is estimated at one billion.
“In our current structure, two things are wrong. We are the tenant of the land, which means that we pay the Government of Canada an exorbitant rent of $70 million a year, which represents 12% of our income. That we have a drain on our finances of this amount is unheard of in the G7. Usually, governments come to help airports. We are the opposite,” criticizes Mr. Rainville.
According to him, the government will have no other option than to modify the lease, otherwise it will constitute “a brake on Montreal tourism and the growth of Air Canada”.
Necessary changes
In addition, he pleads for a change in the legal status of ADM. As a non-profit organization, ADM cannot obtain private investment. Revenues therefore come from fees related to travelers and the passage of aircraft. A legally constituted company status would change the situation.
“If governments don’t want to subsidize our projects, we’ll need private input. It can come from pension funds, like the Caisse de depot or PSP, because it’s a long-term investment,” says Mr. Rainville.
He is worried about the sustainability of the airport and Montreal’s economy if such changes are not implemented. “People are going to wake up in 5 or 10 years and say to themselves that it’s a shame not to have flights to certain destinations. In South America, we are still not very present. In Asia, we will want to add frequencies and destinations,” he said.
Whoever succeeds him will have his work cut out for him. Travelers will also have their say, since online public consultations will soon be launched so that ADM’s plans for the next 20 years are in line with the desires and expectations of citizens.