Saint-Hubert Airport Business Plan | The “situation will be untenable”, according to ADM

If they materialize, the aims of the Montréal–Saint-Hubert airport will create an “untenable situation” which will not serve “anyone”, pleads Aéroports de Montréal (ADM), which doubts the advisability of the business plan. envisaged by the managers of the site located in the southern suburbs of the metropolis.

Julien Arsenault
The Press

The operator of Montreal-Trudeau airport has so far remained discreet in this matter. A summary of his thoughts appears in a voluminous report emanating from a public consultation conducted last spring by the Bloc member for Longueuil–Saint-Hubert, Denis Trudel, on the development of the Saint-Hubert airport.

“To allow greater dilution is to risk recreating the history of Dorval and Mirabel which led Montreal to its marginalization as a destination; it, the civil aviation capital of the world”, can be read in the document as well as in the brief filed earlier this year by ADM, that The Press was able to consult.

The ambitions of Développement de l’Aéroport Saint-Hubert de Longueuil (DASH-L), the non-profit organization that operates and owns the airport, raise concerns, among other things, about the potential repercussions on noise for the neighbourhood.

The site wishes to establish its development by attracting low-cost airlines such as Flair and Swoop in order to offer regional and national flights and to sun destinations.

For this scenario to materialize, Transport Canada must agree to amend an old regulation. ADM’s lease gives it an exclusivity clause for international flights. The manager of Montreal-Trudeau and Mirabel does not want things to change, especially after two years in which passenger traffic has been disrupted by the pandemic. In 2019, Montréal-Trudeau welcomed 20 million passengers. It will be necessary to wait until 2024 to definitively turn the page on the health crisis, according to ADM.

Useful anyway

In disagreement with the development strategy, ADM recognizes that the Saint-Hubert airport can “play a role in the Quebec airport network”. However, it should be limited to regional aviation, private transport and flight schools. In terms of international flights, there is no room for a player other than Montreal-Trudeau and Jean-Lesage Airport (Quebec).

Will there be a time when there will be enough demand for another airport to serve Greater Montreal? Not in the foreseeable future, writes ADM. A change in Saint-Hubert’s vocation would lead it to encroach on the role of [Montréal-Trudeau] rather than contributing to its full potential in its current role in the aerospace ecosystem.

In addition, adds ADM, with the exception of Flair Airlines, present at Montreal-Trudeau, other low-cost carriers such as Swoop, Lynx and Canada Jetlines are absent from Quebec. “Eventually”, Saint-Hubert could play a role, but only in the internal market, believes ADM.

Invited to respond to ADM’s analysis, the director of communications at Saint-Hubert airport, Bernard Gervais, declined to comment. DASH-L did not participate in the public consultations and is in the process of analyzing the content of the report.

The Bloc member for Longueuil–Saint-Hubert had already expressed his opposition to the realization of the ambitions of the airport. The report’s conclusions call on DASH-L to “review its business model” taking into account the “concerns mentioned” in the document.

question marks

It’s not just the operator of Montreal-Trudeau who wonders about the vision of those responsible for Saint-Hubert airport. A user for about two decades, Pascan Aviation is surprised by the lack of details on the strategy of the managers of the place.

Pascan says he learned of a development plan of “100 million in airport infrastructure” in November 2021. The Quebec air carrier says it is in favor of “any structuring project”, but finds that the question marks are numerous.

The company asks that the development be carried out “in complete transparency” with the users. These remarks are also found in the report of those responsible for the public consultation.

The City of Longueuil did not comment. It is awaiting the report from its Public Participation Office, which is also looking into the Saint-Hubert airport file, in the coming weeks.