Mirabel International Airport in Montreal, Canada, was once envisioned as the world’s largest air travel hub. Plans included an ambitious design featuring six runways and six terminals. In 1969, vast expanses of farmland were cleared, displacing 10,000 residents to accommodate this massive project. The airport officially opened in 1975, with expectations of serving millions of passengers each year.

According to The Guardian, the project came with a hefty price tag of C$500 million (£225 million) but ultimately failed to meet expectations due to numerous setbacks. A proposed high-speed rail link to Montreal was never constructed, leaving the airport, located over 30 miles from the city, at a significant disadvantage. Many travelers opted for more conveniently located airports with better transport connections. The airport’s inactivity was so pronounced that it served as a filming location for the movie “The Terminal,” starring Tom Hanks.

By 2003, reports indicated that the once-bustling airport had fallen into disrepair, with weeds overtaking the tarmac and the multi-storey car park nearly empty. It was known that Mirabel International Airport would soon cease passenger operations, transitioning to a cargo and maintenance facility. On October 31, 2004, the airport saw its last commercial flight, when an Air Transat plane departed for Paris, closing a chapter in the airport’s history.

After years standing empty, the passenger terminal was destroyed in 2016 but the rest of the airport continues to function as a freight hub. It’s also used as an aircraft assembly site and an aerospace testing facility. According to The Guardian, Noit Labonté, the president of Montreal’s chamber of commerce, said back in 2003: ‘It was a catastrophe for Montreal. ‘There was no point in any passenger coming into Canada to make a transfer at Montreal.’

Château de l’Aéroport-Mirabel was a 344-room hotel located next to the passenger terminal and was built in the 1970s at the same time as the hub. However, it shut down in 2002 due to the dwindling numbers of holidaymakers using the airport. Another ‘ghost-like’ location can be found in Forest City which was built in 2016 . A whopping £80billion was spent on constructing the community, with aims to construct an eco-friendly and modern landscape. Despite the big plans, only around 9,000 people have moved to Forest City since the work began several years ago.