Following numerous complaints from citizens of the South Shore, night flights of the noisy Boeing 737-200 aircraft will cease in 2024 from Saint-Hubert airport, if the administration’s request is accepted by Transport Canada.
Posted at 5:10 p.m.
“We examined the complaints received over a period of 12 months. And out of approximately 760 complaints, nearly 700 were associated with an aircraft: the Boeing 737-200, an old aircraft that is very noisy,” revealed Jacques Saada, member of the board of directors of Développement Aéroport Saint-Hubert de Longueuil ( DASH-L), Thursday at a press conference.
“DASH-L will therefore request authorization from Transport Canada to prohibit the landing or take-off between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. of noisy aircraft such as the Boeing 737-200, effective 1er April 2024.”
The flights of this aircraft from Saint-Hubert airport are operated by the company Chrono Aviation, which specializes in charter flights. Planes sometimes take off at night to transport employees of a mining company to the Far North.
“There are generally two night take-offs per week and three landings. The flights carry approximately 120 miners to Mary River in Baffin Island, with a gas stop in Iqaluit,” reveals Bernard Gervais, Special Advisor for DASH-L.
For people who are in the air corridor, on both sides, it wakes us up at night, even with the windows closed, as far as Saint-Bruno and Saint-Basile.
Marie-Pierre Brunelle, spokesperson for the Comité anti-pollution des aviones-Longueuil (CAPA-L), who lives in the Laflèche district.
She says she is skeptical of DASH-L’s announcement about the night flight ban.
“That doesn’t mean that Transport Canada will accept,” she notes, giving examples of cases where such requests have been refused. “I will believe it when I see it. »
Several citizen groups denounce the noise caused by aircraft that frequent the airport, such as helicopters, small planes used for piloting lessons or larger planes that take off there.
But they could be even more inconvenienced in the future, since DASH-L would like to receive more commercial flights, in particular connections to the South.
“We have a pool of 2.8 million inhabitants in Montérégie who are forced to cross Montreal to go to Dorval to take the plane for short trips, underlines Jacques Saada. Couldn’t we do better than that? Even from an environmental point of view, wouldn’t it be relevant to do otherwise? That’s what we’re trying to do, for sunny destinations. »
For the moment, Aéroports de Montréal — the manager of the Montréal-Trudeau and Mirabel airports — holds exclusivity for international flights: its lease with Transport Canada contains a clause to this effect. But Mr. Saada would like to obtain the abolition of this clause.
This announcement comes as a public consultation on the development of the airport is about to be held, on the initiative of the mayoress of Longueuil, Catherine Fournier, and the federal deputy for Longueuil–Saint-Hubert, Denis Trudel . Hearings will take place from May 25 to 27, in addition to citizen workshops on May 28.