YUL was inaugurated on September 1, 1941… 80 years ago!

To celebrate this historic anniversary, several activities are planned.

YUL80 Contest

All YUL Express subscribers are automatically entered into the contest. Invite your colleagues to register for the YUL Express so that they too can have a chance to win!

Prizes: 10 gift cards worth $80 in Cadillac Fairview shopping centers and exclusive items in YUL colors will be randomly drawn among the participants.

Winners will be announced on October 1, 2021.

Souvenir Video

A video showing some of the highlights of life at YUL since its inauguration will be posted on Facebook. Emotions guaranteed!

 

Did you know that…
September 1, 1941: A brand new terminal building was inaugurated on the site of the old Dorval racetrack, near Montreal. The airport began operations with an operational plan that included the design of three runways. The Saint-Hubert airport, in service since 1927, was no longer sufficient to meet the new needs of Montreal aviation, largely dictated by the war that was raging at the time. The Dorval Airport was primarily a military airport, with transatlantic flights being the solution to enemy submarine attacks. It was therefore in the midst of the Second World War that it began operations.

From 1941 to 1945, the airport was used primarily to train pilots from Commonwealth countries and to send no less than 10,000 military aircraft to Europe to support the war effort. At the end of the war, in 1945, Dorval turned its attention to civil aviation, which was booming. That year, four airlines offered 22 regular flights. Some 500 passengers passed through Dorval each day, with the Canadian government designating it as the mandatory gateway to eastern Canada.

By the following year, 250,000 travellers were using the airport. Air France and KLM began their activities in 1950. Then, in 1951, Trans-Canada Airlines, which would become Air Canada, inaugurated its Montreal-Paris route. By 1952, annual traffic reached 590,000 passengers and many other airlines established themselves at the airport.

In 1955, Dorval Airport became the largest airport in Canada with over one million passengers.

Today, thanks to its entire airport community, Montreal-Trudeau is beginning to recover from the pandemic and is ready to takeoff!