Little monitored and easy to access, the parking lots reserved for employees at the Montreal-Trudeau airport have become a real “playground” for thieves, workers denounce. Aéroports de Montréal (ADM) says it has taken several measures to stem the scourge, but deplores the lack of collaboration from the police.
“There are no cameras and no real surveillance. Above all, the cars are there for several days since we are going on flights around the world. So, these parking lots are really targeted. It has become a real playground for thieves and we don’t understand why it is tolerated,” denounces a flight attendant who was a victim of theft.
Like a dozen of his colleagues who spoke to The Press, she prefers to keep her identity secret, for fear of suffering professional sanctions from her employer. However, they wanted to share the theft problems they are experiencing, several having even been attacked when leaving the shuttle taking them to the parking lot.
The offenses in question took place in parking lots P10 and P11, reserved for staff. “There are some who have their car stolen or who are arrested when getting off the bus, by physical attacks. Others also had their cars damaged. It’s still recurring,” says a cabin manager.
Another employee even had his vehicle stolen twice. “The first time he just disappeared and I didn’t get any more information. The second time, they broke down the door, deactivated the alarm and started taking the GPS antenna and the main wiring harness,” he says.
The situation also worries pilots. “Just among our pilots in training, who often have a rental car, we have about one stolen per week from the hotel parking lot next door, in Pointe-Claire. At P11, we also had several problems: car thefts, parts theft, flight attendants being followed,” explains a supervisor on the line.
ADM swears she acts
The airport manager, ADM, claims to have taken several measures. “Our teams carry out increased surveillance of the premises 24/7 and obviously pay particular attention to the vehicles most at risk. Other measures were also deployed throughout the year,” explains spokesperson Eric Forest by email.
ADM claims to have counted six thefts in parking lots P10 and P11 in 2023, as well as another in 2024, a figure which is however largely underestimated, according to employees, due to the lack of communication between the authorities. Across the airport site, 112 car thefts were officially recorded last year.
One thing is certain, “ADM cannot act alone to put an end to this scourge,” believes Mr. Forest. Last October, in a letter sent to the City of Montreal that The Press obtained, ADM management was seriously concerned about “the increase in the number of thefts on the airport site” in several parking lots.
The company then argued that it had added patrol officers and surveillance cameras at its own expense “to try to stem this situation”. “For several months, our teams have increased efforts to raise awareness among the Montreal City Police Service (SPVM) so that it [se joigne] to our efforts to fight against this scourge,” wrote two vice-presidents of ADM, Martin Massé and Stéphane Lapierre.
“Our teams have prepared files with photographs of suspects, license plate numbers of vehicles used in the misdeeds and we wish [communiquer] this material to the SPVM to contribute to the investigation which, until now, does not seem to deploy the resources and attention that this issue requires,” conclude the two men, calling for more collaboration from the authorities.
At the SPVM, we also take the issue of vehicle theft seriously. “We intervene when they occur, both at the airport and anywhere else within our jurisdiction. […] The teams from all shifts at neighborhood station 5 pay particular attention to the airport, says spokesperson Anik de Repentigny on this subject.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Parking lots P10 and P11 are reserved for Montreal-Trudeau airport employees
The office of the mayor of Montreal says it is “firmly committed to fighting the scourge of car theft, which is complex and which requires continuous collaborative work with our partners, the port, ADM and both [ordres] of government”.
“We will participate in the Summit on vehicle theft, which will be an opportunity to strengthen our collective strike force and present the fruits of the work of the SPVM and the partners involved in this fight. ADM’s helping hand and collaboration are essential to plan, coordinate and develop solutions,” says press officer Simon Charron.
Lack of solutions?
However, on social networks, the issue is on everyone’s lips in private groups of airport employees or transporters. Even under a recent Facebook post from ADM which announced the upcoming opening of the P4 public parking lot, many did not fail to raise the question.
“It’s really disappointing that we, the cabin crew, are going to have to wait ages to get safer parking! Nobody wants to take charge of this file. What are you waiting for to do something? There haven’t been enough car thefts to finally remedy this situation? We deserve better,” complained one Internet user, for example.
According to a customer service representative, the main problem is that parking “is accessible to everyone via the highway.”
“At night it’s dark and there isn’t enough light. I always park at the last stop, because I don’t feel safe walking alone as a woman. Let’s just say that if anything ever happened to me, I’d be all alone. No camera and no security,” slips the employee, whose car has already been vandalized twice in recent months.
According to another airport employee, ADM and the SPVM are not actually doing much to stem the phenomenon. “There was a committee that looked into security at these parking lots, but we don’t know what the outcome was. Otherwise, we are told about isolated events, but that is not the case. »
Vehicle theft at the airport
Pay $300… only to be robbed
A woman who had her new SUV left in the parking lot of Montreal-Trudeau International Airport stolen earlier this month wonders about the prevention measures taken there, while car thefts in the area are more and more numerous.
“The day this happened to us, there was another family also looking for their car! “, remembers Miranda O’Reilly. She returned from a family trip to the South on January 8 around dinner time. A nasty surprise awaited him: no trace of his 2022 Ford Expedition.
She and her partner scanned the parking lot looking for the new SUV. Nothing to do. “We called security. The guy told us that he was quite used to it,” explains M.me O’Reilly in interview.
She also noticed that the parking lot in question is dark: few street lights seem to be working.
Impossible to see clearly what happened.
Good news
Mme O’Reilly is certain: her vehicle was stolen on January 5, since that was the last date recorded on her geolocation application. Its system then indicated that the car was in an industrial park on the 46e Avenue, not far from the airport.
She went to the scene, where there were containers stacked on top of each other as far as the eye could see.
She notified the police, who were to go there to investigate. “I was furious when I realized the next day that the police had not gone there. I went there myself! » She attempted several follow-ups with the police, without success.
The police didn’t send anyone. We went to check it ourselves. We were just advised to talk to the insurance company.
Miranda O’Reilly, victim of car theft at the airport
An officer called her in the middle of the night in the following days: good news, her Ford Expedition had been found!
The Ford Expedition was in perfect condition, aside from the missing license plate. “They also cut the GPS connection wire. »
Scourge
The couple is relieved: certainly, the insurance would have reimbursed the purchase of a new vehicle.
“But the replacement value would not have been enough to have exactly the same model again. This is a problem that would have cost me maybe $20,000. I was very lucky,” rejoices Mme O’Reilly.
Insurance required some rather expensive upgrades and repairs. It was only last Monday that the Montrealer got her car back.
Now, she wonders: what are we doing at the airport to prevent this scourge? The cost of parking for the week was still $300.
“Why isn’t there surveillance at all times in this parking lot? We still expect it to be safe. But the security guy told us that it happened almost every day. »
Learn more
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- 2.7 million
- Number of vehicles parked in the Montreal airport lot in 2023, one of the largest parking lots in the metropolis
source: AEROPORTS OF MONTRÉAL