It was labeled "a project for the 21st century" by former prime minister Pierre Trudeau. But less than 30 years after it first opened, Mirabel International Airport in Montreal is closing to passenger traffic.

Without much fanfare late Sunday night, the final international passenger flight -- an Air Transat airliner bound for Paris -- lifted off about ten minutes late.

After the final domestic passenger flight leaves Mirabel for Toronto on Monday, cargo carriers will be the airport's only remaining tenants.

It's unclear what will happen to the airport itself. Four proposals are being entertained. Some suggest the site be developed for cargo, industrial or commercial purposes.

From the start, Mirabel was controversial. In order to build the airport, the government expropriated 36,000 hectares of land from about 3,000 property owners.

It was a huge expense and during the process, there were allegations of corruption and patronage.

Then, in 1975, the airport was opened with great fanfare. Montreal's Olympic Games were coming up and the international airport was deemed crucial to the games' success and the city's future as an international destination.

Foreign media and passengers at the airport have taken to calling it a "white elephant."

Despite its size, the airport never reached its capacity. It could handle up to 50 million passengers a year. At the height of its productivity, Mirabel processed just 2.8 million passengers.

"It was doomed to fail almost from the get go," James Cherry, the head of Aéroports de Montréal (ADM) told The Globe and Mail.

"It had a couple of strikes against it right from the beginning, namely to split flights between Mirabel and Trudeau (formerly Dorval), and the failure to build the necessary road and rail links from remote Mirabel to Montreal.

Toronto's Pearson International quickly picked up steam in the 1970s, taking flights away from Mirabel.

The last two charter holdouts at Mirabel -- Air Transat and Sky Service, will move their operations to Trudeau airport next week.

For the people who worked at the airport, it's been a long and slow death for Mirabel. Of the employees still there, 1200 will be transfered to Trudeau and 161 will lose their jobs.

"From the time the folks were expropriated they took on 88,000 acres here. That's huge," says David Schuman, a spokesperson for Mirabel's Chamber of Commerce.

"We thought it was going to be the northeastern hub for America with respect to air traffic and now it's gone. It's erased. It's nothing. It's a ghost town and it makes no sense. Of course people are angry," Schuman says.

Currently, Mirabel is running at a deficit of $19 million each year. The main priority for officials is to ensure the next project in the airport will give it a second life.

A preliminary decision will be made in the spring. For now, Mirabel will handle 80 cargo flights each week. It will also run military test flights.