The Plattsburgh International Airport in upstate New York has seen a 68 per cent increase in passenger traffic over the last year, with 80 per cent of those passengers coming from the Montreal area.

Airport officials at what they call "Montreal's American airport" said the jump in traffic is due to the low airfare deals offered at the airport one hour south of Montreal.

"I'll tell you what the main thing is cheap fares," said Robert Heins, chairman of the Plattsburgh Airport Committee.

"I mean the rates are cheaper based on the cost to fly out of Dorval and the taxes the Canadian government places on the Canadian and American people that fly."

The airport's new marketing campaign and free parking for passengers have also attributed to the boom, Heins said.

Design work on a major expansion of Plattsburgh's terminal is underway.

The expansion will triple current capacity, Heins said.

The Hotel Association of Canada, however, said the boom in Plattsburgh could spell bad news not just for traffic at Montreal's Trudeau airport but for the city's economy in general.

"It's a loss of revenue to the city of Montreal - everything from your hotel room through to taxis, restaurants, attractions, events, you name it," said the association's president, Anthony Pollard.

"People are going out of the country to take advantage of less expensive air travel, and we are all losing for it."

Pollard has called upon the Canadian government to cut the federal excise tax on aviation fuel.

He also said the government needs to charge airports less rent.

Pollard said those are costs airline carriers pass on to consumers - pushing up ticket prices and driving passengers to Plattsburgh.