When he checked his ticket three days before, Benoit Cadieux was surprised to see that he was flying out of the Montreal area’s newest airport terminal.
But Cadieux said Monday he was pleased to be on one of the first commercial flights leaving from St-Hubert’s Montreal Metropolitan Airport, known as the MET. His 11:55 a.m. Porter Airlines flight was bound for Toronto’s Billy Bishop airport.
The airport’s opening ceremonies were held Monday morning, just hours after the first Porter flights left the terminal, bound for Quebec City, Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Saint John and Vancouver. Porter Aviation Holdings Inc. and Australia’s Macquarie Asset Management chipped in for the $200-million project, with the help of a $90-million loan from the Canada Infrastructure Bank. For at least the first few months, the airport will have 138 Porter Airlines flights leaving per week, serving 16 airports within Canada.
“I’m very happy be here today,” said Cadieux, a Laval resident. “I’m going to Toronto for a business trip, and this airport is very clean and very fluid. I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen in the future.”
The Montreal Metropolitan Airport will have 138 Porter Airlines flights leaving per week. Dave Sidaway / Montreal Gazette
Cadieux said the Uber ride to the St-Hubert airport Monday took roughly double the time it usually takes for him to get to Dorval’s Trudeau airport.
Despite the fact it took longer to get there, Cadieux said he was pleased with how easy it was to get to the MET and check in for his flight. He figured he also saved about $300 on airfare.
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The airport authority anticipates attracting one million passengers in its first year, and to reach four million passengers per year in the coming years. That’s a small fraction of the 21 million passengers who flew out of Trudeau in 2023.
“Today is a great day for us, and I think it’s a very important day for Greater Montreal as well,” said Charles Roberge, the CEO of YHU Infrastructure Partners, the group that managed the construction of the terminal. “We are now offering a multi-airport system in Greater Montreal and we’re happy to be here.”
The St-Hubert airport authority anticipates attracting one million passengers in its first year. Dave Sidaway / Montreal Gazette
Monday’s ceremony also attracted curious local residents, like Boucherville’s Lucie Roy and Richard Lalancette.
“We just came to visit, and we’re planning on coming here soon because we’re going to be taking a trip to Halifax, and then to Canada’s West Coast, too,” Roy said. “We’re fed up going to Dorval. It’s hell to get there. This airport is just 10 minutes from our house.”
“It’s 45 minutes for us to get to Trudeau, and that’s only if there’s no congestion in the loading zone,” Lalancette added. “Leaving our car there is prohibitive. I think we’re going to be using this airport often.”
From left: Yani Gagnon, co-owner and vice-president, Pascan Aviation; Charles Roberge, president and chief executive officer, YHU Terminal; Quebec Tourism Minister Amélie Dionne; Longueuil Mayor Catherine Fournier; Simon-Pierre Diamond, Montreal Metropolitan Airport interim president; and Porter Airlines CEO Michael Deluce. Dave Sidaway / Montreal Gazette
Roberge promises an easy passenger experience that will allow people to arrive at the airport 20 minutes before their check-in time and still be on time for their flights. By contrast, Trudeau airport tells passengers to arrive three hours before their flights. That airport is in the midst of a multi-year reconfiguration of its road network, including the demolition of its multi-level parking lot and the expansion of its arrival and departure lanes to double their vehicular capacity.
“If you come here 30 minutes before, you’ll have time to have two coffees,” Roberge said with a smile.
Roberge said he’s not aiming to compete with Trudeau, especially since the St-Hubert terminal has no international flights.
“Most major cities around the world have multi-airport systems,” he said. “If you look at the demand, by the 2030s there will be a demand of 30 million passengers. I think there is plenty of demand and a lack of capacity, so we’re coming in with additional capacity.”
The St-Hubert airport is around the same size as those in Ottawa, Winnipeg and Halifax.
Porter Airlines’ inaugural flight from Montreal Metropolitan Airport, Flight PD181 to Vancouver, receives a water cannon salute at the airport on Monday, June 15, 2026. Joelle Simard-Lapointe / YHU Infrastructure Partners
You’ll often see Jason Magder donning a hard hat and florescent vest at a local construction site. As The Gazette’s transportation reporter for more than a decade, he has seen the new Champlain Bridge built, the old one demolished and followed the ups and downs of the city’s transit system. He has been covering news in Montreal for 25 years.
jmagder@postmedia.com