Montreal Metropolitan Airport (YHU) saw its inaugural flights taking off today, as Porter Airlines celebrated its latest milestone.
A formal ceremony at the newly constructed terminal in Longueuil, Quebec, will mark the commencement of regular commercial operations. The arrival of a Porter aircraft featuring a traditional water salute will be carried out by airport firefighters. Local dignitaries are also expected to attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The opening has been marred by Pascan Aviation flight attendants picketing outside the airport, claiming the airline is refusing to negotiate with the union. Pascan is the only other carrier currently operating at the MET.
Porter is inaugurating four new routes from the South Shore hub: Vancouver, Toronto-Pearson, Toronto-City, and St. John’s, N.L, before introducing flights to 11 airports across the country from MET over the next week:
|
MET routes* |
Start date |
Frequency |
|
St. John’s (YYT) ** |
June 15 |
7x weekly |
|
Toronto City (YTZ) |
June 15 |
27x weekly |
|
Toronto Pearson (YYZ) |
June 15 |
20x weekly |
|
Vancouver (YVR) |
June 15 |
14x weekly |
|
Edmonton (YEG) |
June 16 |
7x weekly |
|
Calgary (YYC) |
June 17 |
7x weekly |
|
Halifax (YHZ) |
June 17 |
14x weekly |
|
Charlottetown (YYG) ** |
June 18 |
7x weekly |
|
Winnipeg (YWG) ** |
June 18 |
7x weekly |
|
Moncton (YQM) ** |
June 19 |
7x weekly |
|
Hamilton (YHM) |
June 22 |
14x weekly |
As Open Jaw reported, Porter is the launch carrier for the new airport, connecting Montreal’s South Shore to destinations across Canada.
Porter CEO, Michael Deluce, spoke to Open Jaw's Nina Slawek inside the new MET terminal, saying the airport would be a "game changer" for Montreal, comparing it to Toronto's Billy Bishop.
According to Porter, passenger traffic at MET is projected to hit one million in its first year, eventually growing to four million annually at full capacity.
