Montréal–Mirabel International Airport: Airport area development (1974)

Description

Montréal–Mirabel International Airport was once planned to become one of the largest airports in the world. Loosely modelled on Dallas Fort-Worth International Airport, Mirabel was to boast six runways, six passenger terminals and an annual capacity of at least 50 million passengers and millions of tons of cargo. Mirabel opened on October 4, 1975. Initial facilities included two 12,000-foot (3,658-meter) runways and a passenger terminal. For a variety of reasons, annual passenger traffic kept hovering around the two-million mark and the airport never developed beyond its first-phase layout. In 2004, Mirabel was permanently closed to passenger traffic. The project has been partially redeemed by the development of a successful aviation cluster, with companies like Bombardier, Pratt & Whitney and Bell Helicopter being based in and around the airport and employing thousands of people. Mirabel is also an important cargo airport.

This 32-page brochure provides an overview of the plans to develop and safeguard land around the new Mirabel International Airport. It contains many maps and was published in October, 1974. What makes this plan very unique is that it is one of the earliest known examples of an integrated development plan for an airport’s periphery.

This document has been carefully restored and scanned at the highest quality possible.