BURST
A Montreal airport shuttle driver has been fired after a video showing him making hateful remarks at Montreal–Trudeau International Airport went viral on social media.
A short video posted on X Wednesday shows a shuttle driver late at night, appearing to shout at passengers. It was posted by StopAntisemitism, a U.S.-based organization that monitors and campaigns against antisemitism. In the clip, the man can be heard saying: “You piece of s—, you Zionist piece of s—.”
The man also allegedly shouted in Arabic and made a violent antisemitic threat, The Gazette has learned.
The video quickly spread online, drawing more than 400,000 views within 24 hours.
Aéroports de Montréal (ADM), which operates the airport, said in a statement on Thursday it was taking the incident “very seriously.” It said the man did not work directly for the airport, but for a subcontractor serving several nearby hotels.
“Hateful behaviour has no place on our airport premises,” ADM said. “This unacceptable discourse in no way reflects the values of our organization or our airport community.”
It added that it had contacted the companies involved and demanded the driver no longer be authorized to operate on airport grounds, warning their licence could otherwise be revoked.
The Gazette understands that the confrontation took place near the airport’s gate 8, outside the hotel shuttle drop-off zone.
The shuttle serves the Fairfield, Hyatt Place and DoubleTree hotels — all owned by Quintcap, a Montreal-area real estate developer — and is operated by Groupe Maximum, a third-party contractor. Quintcap also built and owns several hotels under various international banners, which it manages through its Quint Hotels subsidiary.
In a statement to The Gazette, Groupe Maximum said the video was “entirely inconsistent with the values and standards we uphold as an organization.”
The company said the driver was “relieved of all duties” on Thursday after it became aware of the footage.
“This incident is contrary to our code of conduct, and we sincerely regret any discomfort or inconvenience it may have caused,” the company said. “We take such matters very seriously and reaffirm our commitment to maintaining a respectful and professional operation at all times.”
Aldo Carlucci, director of hospitality operations for Quint Hotels, and Matthew Waxlax of Quintcap confirmed to The Gazette that Groupe Maximum had informed them Thursday that the driver had been dismissed.
Waxlax said they were “appalled by the disgusting remarks,” adding that this is particularly important to the group as the founder, Theodore Quint, is Jewish.
The company is now appealing for the affected passengers to come forward so it can “make it right with our hospitality.”
“We really want to make this right,” Carlucci said.
It comes amid a rise in antisemitic acts in Montreal since the outbreak of the Israel–Hamas war in 2023, including incidents like hate speech, vandalism and firebombings on synagogues.