Montréal–Mirabel International Airport

Montréal–Mirabel International Airport (IATA: YMX, ICAO: CYMX), originally called Montréal International Airport and widely known as Mirabel, is a cargo airport located in Mirabel, Quebec, Canada, 21 nautical miles (39 km; 24 mi) northwest of Montreal and opened October 4, 1975. By surface area it was the largest airport in the world ever envisioned, with a planned area of 39,660 hectares (396.6 km²; 98,000 acres); King Fahd International Airport in Saudi Arabia, completed in 1999, eventually surpassed its surface area. In 1989, 32,780 hectares (81,000 acres) of the 39,660 hectares (98,000 acres) were deeded back to their owners.

The predominant role of the airport is cargo flights but it is also home to MEDEVAC and general aviation flights as well as being a manufacturing base for Bombardier Aerospace, where final assembly of regional jet (CRJ700, CRJ900 and CRJ1000) aircraft and the Bombardier CSeries is conducted. The former passenger terminal apron is now a racing course.

Mirabel, Quebec

Mirabel is an off-island suburb of Montreal, located Southern Quebec.

Mirabel is also the name of a territory equivalent to a regional county municipality (TE) and census division (CD) of Quebec, coextensive with the city of Mirabel. Its geographical code is 74. Prior to 2002, Mirabel was not only a city but also comprised the Mirabel Regional County Municipality.

The city is home to Montréal-Mirabel International Airport.

History

Mirabel was formed through the expropriation of private lands and the merger of 8 municipalities in 1971. The former municipalities were (with their individual founding dates in brackets): Saint-Augustin (1855); Saint-Benoît (1855); Saint-Hermas (1855); Saint-Janvier-de-Blainville (1855); Sainte-Scholastique (1855); Saint-Canut (1857); Sainte-Monique (1872), and Saint-Janvier-de-la-Croix (1959). Initially called Ville de Sainte-Scholastique and renamed to Mirabel in 1973, the city was planned to become a vast transportation and industrial hub for eastern Canada with Montréal-Mirabel International Airport at its centre.

Mirabel (name)

Mirabel is a female name stemming from the Latin word mirabilis, meaning "wondrous" or "of wondrous beauty". It was used as both a male and female name in the Middle Ages, but is now almost exclusively female.

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People

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