This HuffPost Canada page is maintained as part of an online archive.

Montreal's Abandoned Mirabel Airport Faces The Wrecking Ball (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

Inside Montreal's Abandoned Airport Before It's Torn Down

Time is running out for the terminal building at Mirabel International Airport.

Facility owner Aéroports de Montréal (ADM) will meet September 16 to award a tender for its destruction despite efforts to see it repurposed as a conference centre, The Canadian Press reported in French.

The site's demolition was announced last May after the owner decided it wasn't economically feasible to keep it going.

At the time, a non-profit group known as the Montreal-Mirabel Corporation, which included Mirabel Mayor Jean Bouchard and former Quebec premier Bernard Landry, began putting together a feasibility study to see if the airport could be used for conferences, CP said.

But as of this week, the corporation hadn't submitted a business plan to support its proposal, ADM spokeswoman Christiane Beaulieu told the news agency.

Furthermore, the terminal building could cost tens of millions of dollars to repair and convert to a new purpose, said CTV News.

Opened in 1975, just prior to the following year's Summer Olympic Games in Montréal, Mirabel was initially intended to replace another airport in Dorval.

Flights came and went from Mirabel for years but the facility was 50 kilometres away from the city and passengers became tired of the travel it took to arrive there.

Though it continues to accommodate cargo operations, its terminal has sat abandoned and hasn't had a passenger plane since 2004.

Check out photos of Mirabel airport before it faces the wrecking ball:

Mirabel

Mirabel Airport Before its Demolition

Follow Us On Twitter

Close
This HuffPost Canada page is maintained as part of an online archive. If you have questions or concerns, please check our FAQ or contact support@huffpost.com.