At the dawn of the summer vacation, Montreal International Airport is once again experiencing an influx of travellers. The last summer season was marked by all-out delays and widespread disorganization at the airport and airlines. The labor shortage and the frantic resumption of air traffic have been identified as the main factors involved in Montreal and elsewhere. However, the issue of the airport’s deficient infrastructure has been addressed too little, and partly explains the poor record of Montréal-Trudeau, ranked second in the world last summer among the airports with the most high lateness rates, according to a CNN compilation.
The Montreal airport is struggling to meet demand, in particular because of its smaller size compared to the Toronto and Vancouver airports. Since a visitor’s first impression is through the air terminal, it is clear that Montréal-Trudeau is unfortunately no match for the world capital of civil aviation that is Montréal, which notably hosts the headquarters of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), an agency of the United Nations.
Passengers often have to wait an hour after landing for a landing bridge to become available, even outside the summer season. This expectation seems to be generated by the low number of doors. For example, in Vancouver there are about forty gates for domestic flights, while in Montreal it is half as many. Yet, the difference in the number of travelers was only three million in 2022. In addition, the Montreal airport receives connecting passengers from a multitude of cities spread over five continents.
The long wait for immigration and customs controls and the congestion of the international jetty (inaugurated in 2016!) call for the planning and construction of a new pavilion which would welcome international flights, like Toronto Pearson. This pavilion should include additional baggage carousels so that the baggage mess noted last summer does not happen again. It would also be an opportunity to exhibit and highlight the history and key figures of aviation as well as the rich natural and artistic heritage of Quebec, the First Nations and the Inuit. We would then adopt the brilliant idea put in place by architects in San Francisco and Vancouver to integrate a museum into the enclosure of the terminal to give an overview of the local culture.
Invest to create at Montréal-Trudeau a hub A modern and efficient pan-Canadian and international network would also make it possible to better distribute passengers between Montreal and Toronto and make air travel more pleasant. This strategy would make the national air network more robust during periods of high traffic or weather disturbances. The economy of Montreal and Quebec would be stimulated by the growth of tourism and internal trade throughout the year. We can even dream of new destinations such as Austin, Buenos Aires, Dakar, Seoul or Hong Kong…