Brass at Trudeau Airport popped the bubbly in honour of its record 14th million passenger of the year Monday, in celebration of a total which has outstripped any previous year at the airport.
The passenger was feted with souvenirs and champagne, as was everybody else on his flight to St. Lucia, although officials confessed that they didn't know which specific passenger to honour.
"The 14 millionth passenger is on board, but because we can’t say precisely who it is, we are pleased to share this honour with everyone on the flight,” airport official Christiane Beaulieu said.
The airport has flirted with the 14 million mark several times but this is the first time it managed to crack the figure.
Yet in spite of its progress, the airport remains only the fourth-most used in Canada and even trails Calgary.
Montreal is considered the world centre of civil aviation, with ICAO and IATA both based in the city, but its airport - once the country's busiest - is far-less used than Toronto’s Lester B. Pearson Airport, which accommodates 35 million travelers per year.
The airport reached the 13 million mark in 2011 but its slow progress to 14 million has been blamed on economic conditions abroad.
On the plus side, however, more Americans are traveling to Europe via Montreal, airport officials report.
The airport has been improving its services with large information screens installed on walls and a faster check-in process available.
Passengers can now enter their cell phone information and flight information on a new online service and receive texts with useful information about the best time to show up for scrutiny screening and other checkpoints.
