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Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (Aéroport international Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau de Montréal) or Montreal-Trudeau for short, is an international airport serving Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Its ICAO airport code is "CYUL" and it IATA airport code is YUL. It is the busiest airport in the province of Quebec and the third busiest airport in Canada by passenger traffic (after LBPIA and Vancouver) serving 10.0 million passengers in 2004, and the fourth busiest airport by aircraft movements. Currently the airport is completing a C$700 million expansion plan that will double the capacity of the terminal.
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History
Montreal-Trudeau was formerly known as Montreal Dorval International Airport. It is located in Dorval, Quebec on the Island of Montreal, now part of the borough of Dorval—L'Île-Dorval in Montreal. The airport was renamed by the federal government in honour of former Canadian Prime Minister, the late Right Honourable Pierre Elliott Trudeau, on January 1, 2004, the renaming having been announced in September the previous year. This move provoked opposition from some Quebeckers, especially Quebec sovereigntists opposed to some of the policies of the former Prime Minister, as well as less vocal opposition from many aviation historians and enthusiasts who note Trudeau's historical role as an opponent of the airport. Trudeau was heavily involved in the construction of Mirabel International Airport, orignally planned to replace Montreal-Dorval airport.
Dorval played an important role in the development of trans-atlantic aviation. It was primarily chosen as an airport because of good weather and few foggy days. During WWII it was the major transit point for departures to Europe. Thousands of Allied aircraft passed through Dorval on the way to England. Women - the WAC's (Womens Air Core) - played a major role in transiting aircraft to the war theatres by way of Dorval. At one time Dorval was the major transatlantic hub for commercial aviation and the busiest airport in Canada with airlines such as British Overseas Airways Corporation (B.O.A.C) landing at Dorval enroute to New York.
Montreal's economic decline in the late 1970's and 1980's (due in part to the costs of the 1976 Olympic Games and to language disputes) had a significant effect on the airport's traffic, as international flights shifted away from Dorval to Pearson Airport in more prosperous Toronto. Ironically, the Trudeau government had recently developed Mirabel Airport north of Montreal to handle an expected growth in international traffic, and, eventually, to replace Dorval. That extra traffic never materialized, and due to its closer proximity to downtown Montreal, all scheduled air services has now returned to Dorval/Trudeau, while Mirabel has nearly ceased operation. With Montreal's economic recovery during the late 1990s, traffic at the airport may once again pick up.
International Airlines
- Air Canada with service to Barbados, Cancun, Cayo Coco (Cuba), Cayo Largo (Cuba), Frankfurt, Holguin (Cuba), Pointe-à-Pitre (Guadeloupe), London Heathrow, Montego Bay, Nassau, Paris CDG, Port-au-Prince, Puerto Plata (Dom. Republic), Punta Cana (Dom. Republic) and Varadero (Cuba)
- Air France with service to Paris CDG
- Air Saint Pierre with service to St. Pierre (St. Pierre et Miquelon)
- Air Transat with charter service to holiday destinations.
- Austrian Airlines with service to Vienna.
- British Airways with service to London Heathrow.
- CSA Czech Airlines with service to Prague.
- Cubana Airlines with service to Camaguey, Havana and Varadero.
- Egyptair with service to Cairo.
- KLM with service to Amsterdam.
- Lufthansa with service to Munich.
- Mexicana Airlines with service to Mexico City.
- Olympic Airlines (successor to Olympic Airways) with service to Athens.
- Royal Air Maroc with service to Casablanca.
- Sata Airlines with charter service to Portugal.
- Skyservice with charter services.
- Swiss International Airlines with service to Zurich.
- Thomas Cook Airlines with charter service to holiday destinations.
- Zoom Airlines with charter service to holiday destinations.
Transborder (US) Airlines
On flights originating in Montreal, like at many other major Canadian airports, passengers bound for the United States go through U.S. customs and immigration prior to boarding their flights. The flight is then treated on arrival in the U.S. as a domestic flight.
- Air Canada (Boston, Chicago, Fort Lauderdale, Hartford, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York LaGuardia, New York Newark, Orlando, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Tampa, Washington Dulles, Washington Reagan).
- Air Transat with charter service to US holiday destinations.
- American Airlines/American Eagle (Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Miami, and New York JFK).
- Continental Airlines/Continental Express (Cleveland and New York Newark).
- Delta Air Lines/Delta Connection (Atlanta, Cincinnati and New York LaGuardia)
- Northwest Airlines (Detroit and Minneapolis).
- United Airlines/United Express (Chicago and Washington Dulles).
- US Airways/US Airways Express (New York LaGuardia and Philadelphia).
Domestic Airlines
- Air Canada (Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Ottawa, St. John's, Toronto, Winnipeg, and Vancouver)
- Air Canada Jazz (Bagotville, Baie-Comeau, Bathurst, Charlottetown, Fredericton, Hamilton, Moncton, Ottawa, Quebec City, Rouyn-Noranda, Saint John, Val-d'Or, Winnipeg)
- Air Creebec with service to Chibougamau, Roberval and Val-d'Or.
- Air Inuit with service to Kuujjuarapik and La Grande.
- Canjet with service to Halifax.
- First Air with service to Kuujjuaq and Kuujjuarapik.
- Quebecair Express with service to Quebec City.
- Westjet with service to Calgary, Ft. Lauderdale, Toronto, Winnipeg, and Vancouver
See also
External link
- Aéroports de Montréal Homepage (http://www.admtl.com/admmaintext.jsp?idbin=218000)fr:Aéroport international Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau de Montréal