Porter Aviation Holdings Inc. (PAHI) is entering a partnership with Montréal Saint-Hubert Airport (YHU) to develop a new terminal capable of serving over 4 million passengers annually. Construction will commence in mid-2023, with a scheduled completion by late 2024, providing a second airport for Porter Airlines (Porter) to serve the Montréal market.
Porter will continue expanding its existing operations at Montréal’s Trudeau Airport (YUL), while also introducing a Canada-wide network at the convenient YHU airport. More than 10 potential YHU routes have been initially identified, spanning from Vancouver in the west to St. John’s, N.L., in the east. The airline also intends to connect YHU with both of its Toronto hubs – Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (YTZ) and Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ). This will provide Porter with the most compelling and convenient flight offering between Canada’s two largest cities. Routes will be served with a combination of 78-seat De Havilland Dash 8-400 and 132-seat Embraer E195-E2 aircraft.
The YHU terminal development is modelled after the successful revitalization of Billy Bishop that Porter has been a part of for the last 17 years. After decades of declining passenger service, Porter’s commitment to YTZ was the catalyst for route developments and infrastructure investments that led to the airport serving nearly three million passengers annually, across more than 20 routes and producing $3 billion dollars of annual economic impact. The YHU terminal will provide faster passenger processing, resulting in travel time savings to go along with a comfortable departure lounge environment that Billy Bishop travellers are familiar with. PAHI originally designed and built the modern terminal at YTZ that is in use today.