Investments of $110 million to secure the future of cargo at the International Aerocity of Mirabel


By Geneviève Cournoyer-Scalise December 21 2020

Transport Canada and Aéroports de Montréal (ADM) have announced investments of 110 million to improve the logistics chain of the cargo area at Mirabel Airport.

Even though Mirabel Airport has not received passenger flights since 2004 and the terminal was demolished in 2014, freight transport is still one of the main air activities in operation at the Laurentian airport site.

The announcement of this major funding is part of an initiative to promote the transportation industry including the development of greater accommodation capacity for all-cargo flights in greater Montreal. “There is a market for air cargo transportation and the YMX platform of the Mirabel Aerocity, where there is a project for an aero logistics hub, is a part of concrete measures to ensure the future of cargo,” explained Martin Massé, Vice-President of Public Affairs at ADM, at the RELANÇONS MONTRÉAL virtual forum held by the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal, on November 20, 2020.

The entire project aims to update existing infrastructure and will also include the construction of new warehouses closer to the tarmac in order to meet logistics demand. Thus, the investments will be divided into 3 important subprojects, announced Mr. Massé: “Increasing the airport apron’s capacity, building new facilities with direct access to the flight lines, and restoring the service lanes connecting to the highway network, which will ease intermodal transportation.” The main goal is to make the current platform more efficient and attractive to new carriers interested in the International Aerocity facility.

Since the beginning of the pandemic and considering the low number of passenger flights still in service that can accommodate cargo in their holds, Mirabel has become a major air traffic centre dedicated to freight transport. Mirabel has one of the longest landing runways in Canada. One of the few long enough to accommodate the largest aircraft in the world, the Antonov AN-225, with a capacity of 250 tons of material, and its little brothers the Antonov AN-124 models. All three landed in Mirabel last May, to ensure supplies of medical protective equipment against the coronavirus, among others. According to Anne-Sophie Hamel-Longtin, spokesperson for ADM, “an average of 100,000 tons of cargo pass through Mirabel each year. About ten all-cargo carriers operate on our runways daily,” she adds. 1 A promising economic activity within the coming years considering the enthusiasm for e-commerce which inevitably has an impact on the capacity and the demand for freight transportation and the airline industry.

As an international freight forwarder, Cargolution is delighted about this announcement and the competitive advantages that will result from this revitalization project at Mirabel airport. With greater capacity for all-cargo flights, there is also the possibility of a greater quantity of goods being traded through YMX. Ultimately, the project will certainly create an opening for more opportunities for direct routes for all-cargo flights departing from Eastern Canada, thereby limiting delays and transit times. For our clients, additional transport capacity, compared to what is already offered on passenger flights, will benefit the entire Canadian market in addition to promoting intermodal transport, which will surely become more efficient, and therefore increase commercial activity in this sector.

Obviously, 2020 and the pandemic have muddied the waters by slowing down the project that was initially announced at the end of 2019. It was with a major sigh of relief that ADM welcomed the announcement this fall from Transport Minister Marc Garneau, who reiterated the federal government’s contribution of $50 million to the project. 2 This is in addition to the $60 million needed to complete this large-scale project estimated at $110 million.

Starting in 2021, ADM intends to move forward with the creation of this aero logistics hub, which should be expected to be completed within 8 years. Even though we will have to be patient before the project reaches completion, the improvements planned at International Aerocity of Mirabel will certainly contribute to the future and to the growth of airport economic activities, as well as the entire transportation and logistics industry in the greater Montreal area.

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