Airline passengers could soon have another airport in the Montreal area.

The Saint-Hubert Airport currently serves charter flights and private planes, but could soon become a lot busier thanks to a new runway -- and big plans.

“We want this to be the secondary airport for Montreal,” said airport chairperson Charles Vaillancourt.

The airport has its sights set on attracting ultra-low-cost carriers that fly in and out of cities like Burlington, as well as airlines such as Porter and Jazz that fly to Toronto and other Canadian cities.

To prove their preparedness, a Boeing 737 flew in and landed on the new runway Thursday.

“Secondary airports offer two things, typically. The first one is proximity to downtown, which we have. We have a train station here and in two stops, you're downtown. And (we have) a lower cost structure that will attract the low cost carriers,” said Vaillancourt.

Promoters say this makes sense at a time when airline passenger traffic is growing in the Montreal region.

“In terms of distance, Saint-Hubert is actually closer to downtown than Trudeau and the train station is right across the street from the airport,” said Vaillancourt.

It's far from a done deal, though.

The airport does not have a terminal, nor a serious estimate yet on what it would cost to build one.

But the airport, which is owned by the City of Longueuil, was able to secure $13 million from the federal government to renovate the runway.

Early next year, it hopes to have a fully costed plan in place.

“We'd like hundreds of thousands of passengers per year,” said Vaillancourt.

They aren't yet ready to dream that this will become the next Billy Bishop Airport – the one on Toronto Island – but Longueuil Mayor Sylvie Parent said having an airport there would be a big boost for the local economy.

“When businesspeople see they have access to an airport so close to them, it makes locating here attractive,” she said, adding that it would also be a boon for South Shore residents who wouldn't have to travel to Dorval to take a flight at Trudeau Airport.

The hope is large passenger planes could begin flights by late next year.