Porter Airlines betting travellers will embrace Montreal's second airport

MONTREAL — Montreal’s South Shore gained a new gateway to the rest of Canada on Monday with the launch of Porter Airlines’ commercial passenger terminal.

Long associated with pilot training and cargo flights, the St-Hubert airport, one of Canada’s oldest aviation hubs, has been rebranded to Montreal Metropolitan Airport, renovated and expanded with flights to 11 Canadian destinations, including Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Toronto.

Calling the domestic terminal a new era for the region’s aviation sector, Porter Airlines CEO Michael Deluce says he hopes travellers embrace the airport as an alternative to Montréal-Trudeau International Airport.

“More air service means more trade, more tourism, and more business opportunities,” Deluce said during the opening ceremony.

Porter’s presence at both Montreal-area airports gives travellers more flexibility while improving connections between Quebec and the rest of the country, he said.

The airline expects the airport to become an increasingly important part of its network. By July, Deluce said, Montreal Metropolitan Airport will rank as Porter’s fourth-largest airport in terms of seats and flights across Canada.

Bookings for the new service have exceeded expectations, Porter says.

Charles Roberge, chief executive of YHU Infrastructure Partners, the company that operates the new terminal, said the service was designed to complement the Trudeau airport, which offers both domestic and international flights, and helps accommodate future growth in passenger traffic across the Montreal region.

Located about 20 kilometres from downtown Montreal and across from the Canadian Space Agency headquarters, the airport was founded in 1927 and has played an important role in the region’s history for nearly a century, Longueuil Mayor Catherine Fournier said.

“This is truly a project that will allow us to connect to the (rest) of Quebec and of Canada,” she said.

Fournier said the airport will also support the development of Longueuil’s aerospace-focused innovation zone and increase the region’s attractiveness for businesses looking to establish themselves on the South Shore.

Quebec Tourism Minister Amélie Dionne said the new flights could help bring more visitors to Quebec as domestic travel gains momentum, with some Canadians choosing destinations closer to home over trips to the United States.

“We’re super excited about this new airport,” said Pierre Leclerc, travelling to Toronto with his wife and six-year-old daughter. “We said we wanted to discover more of Canada this year.”

“The more options we offer visitors and tourists to come here, the more likely we are to attract them,” said Dionne.

Dionne noted that Ontario and Atlantic Canada are among Quebec’s most important tourism markets and said the new service will help strengthen those connections.

Transportation experts, however, say changing long-established travel habits may take time, even if the airport offers a more convenient option for some travellers.

Porter says its research shows that roughly half of the Montreal area’s population can reach St-Hubert faster than the Trudeau airport, located in Dorval, Que., a city on the Island of Montreal west of downtown.

Jacques Roy, a professor of operations and logistics at business school HEC Montréal, said the new airport could appeal to South Shore residents looking for an alternative to the congestion around the Trudeau airport — a challenge that has grown in recent years, particularly during peak travel periods.

Roy added that the airport could provide another option for travellers while they wait for the REM rail link to reach Trudeau, a project expected to be completed by the end of 2027.

Archie Huang, an assistant professor specializing in transportation planning at Concordia University, said shorter travel times can be appealing, but travellers also weigh factors such as ticket prices, flight frequency and reliability when deciding where to fly from.

For some passengers, cost was already a deciding factor.

Dev Lean, who was preparing to board Monday’s inaugural flight to Vancouver, said she chose to fly from St-Hubert after finding a promotional fare that was about $500 cheaper than flying from Trudeau.

“It’s cool to have other options,” she said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 15, 2026.

Charlotte Glorieux, The Canadian Press