Travellers to Montreal — and those coming home from trips abroad — may not have expected the monster blizzard that blanketed much of Quebec Tuesday night.
But as they trudged through the snow to the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport parking lot, they may have been surprised to find their cars completely cleared of snow.
READ MORE: Snow removal underway after intense storm in Montreal
About 40 employees took time out of their work day to help clean up in the aftermath of the snowstorm, some even working from 7 a.m. to midnight.
READ MORE: Quebec City sees worst March storm since 2008
“It’s all the airport community, people who work at the parking lot, in the duty-free, or even any restaurant within the terminal,” Stephanie Lepage, a spokesperson for the airport, told Global News.
“We have 11,000 parking spaces at the airport. It’s a big parking lot.”
The storm hit hard and fast and airport officials said they were grateful for the enthusiastic response when they asked for a helping hand.
IN PHOTOS: Airport employees clear off snow-covered cars
“There’s about 600 people working for the Aéroport de Montréal, but about 20,000 working in the airport side, such as firefighters, airline staff, concessionaires, boutique staff, customs,” said Lepage.
“It’s really a community and most people contributed these last few days. They did extra time and stayed longer to work and help out.”
“I believe people who work at the airport are lovers of the airport — for real, people who work here are really passionate and they love their jobs and they mostly participate and would do whatever to help out customers.”
Throughout the storm, the airfield is priority number one, explained Lepage.
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“We never stop. It’s a conveyor of vehicles and we always alternate: we remove the snow on one runway while we land and take off from the other.”
Thursday, the airport took to social media to recognize the work of its many employees.
“We want to truly recognize the kindness of our employees who voluntarily roll up their sleeves to shovel the cars parked at the airport,” wrote the airport on its Facebook page.
The gesture did not go unnoticed by Montrealers who travelled to and from the airport.
READ MORE: Snowstorm wreaks havoc on Quebec highways
“The most feedback we got was on Facebook, the comments we received,” Lepage said.
“Some people would say ‘oh, I’m glad when I come back my car will be clean.'”
Lepage noted that travellers to Trudeau airport can always reserve their parking space in advance on the website and have access to valet service.
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