It may not be Canada’s busiest or prettiest airport, but Montréal-Trudeau International Airport has grown in leaps and bounds in recent years to become a modern and efficient operation that is a pleasure to fly through.
As a lifelong Montrealer who has flown through YUL countless times, I know it inside and out and while it will never compete with the world’s great airports, I think it’s underrated by a lot of travellers.
Here’s my guide on how to efficiently navigate YUL and enjoy your time at my hometown airport.
Lounges abound at YUL
If you’re a lounge connoisseur, Montreal-Trudeau Airport has a nice selection, although most are only accessible to international travellers.
Air Canada operates three Maple Leaf Lounges in YUL. One at gate 3 for domestic travellers, one at gate 73 for those flying to the United States and another at gate 52 for international passengers. Only accessible to business class customers and those with elite status with the airline, all three lounges offer food and drink, high-speed Wi-Fi and comfortable seating, but the international lounge also offers showers, a much-welcome amenity for those with long-haul connections.
Air France-KLM operates its lounge between gates 55 and 57 of the international jetty for Air France Business and Flying Blue Elite Plus customers as well as Plaza Premium Group members. It’s probably the prettiest lounge at YUL and I especially like it for the runway views because I love watching planes land and take off more than I like looking at my phone.
Passengers flying to the United States have another option near gate 76 in the form of the Salon Odyssée Desjardins – Plaza Premium Lounge. It’s accessible to Plaza Premium Group subscribers and holders of Desjardins’ Odyssey credit card.
The bank operates a second lounge for international passengers near gate 63 called the Desjardins Odyssey Lounge which is reserved for their credit card customers only.
The National Bank also operates a lounge for international passengers near gate 53. Access is free for National Bank World Elite Mastercard cardholders while other National Bank credit cardholders can access it by paying a fee. It’s also accessible to Priority Pass members and even if you have none of these things, you can sometimes buy a day pass if the lounge is not too busy.
Transportation to and from the city centre
Until construction is complete on the airport station for the new light-rail network known as the Réseau express métropolitain or REM, passengers flying into Montreal will have to rely on more traditional modes of transportation to get to and from the airport.
My preference is to take a taxi and they are easy to find waiting in line outside the airport’s arrivals level near the central exit. You don’t need a reservation and a dispatcher will assist you.
If you are going downtown, you will pay a flat fare and the amount depends on the time of day. Other parts of the city require you to pay what is on the taxi meter. If you have limited mobility, some adapted taxis are available so ask the dispatcher for assistance.
If you prefer limousine service, you must place an order at the desk near door 24 on the arrivals level. Unfortunately, you cannot reserve a one in advance.
A less expensive option to get downtown is via the 747 city bus which runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, between the airport and Lionel-Groulx and Berri-UQAM métro stations. The latter is near the city’s long-distance bus station, the Gare d’autocars de Montréal. You can also take the bus to the airport from these two subway stations.
Because YUL serves such a large area, there are also long-distance buses to get you to and from the airport. For example, Orléans Express offers several departures daily to Ottawa, Québec City and Trois-Rivières. To find these buses, exit through door 28 at the arrivals level and head to post 5 or 6.
Aéronavette offers similar service to the southern Québec cities of Sherbrooke, Magog/Orford, Bromont, Granby, L’Ange-Gardien and Richelieu.
If you’re staying at one of the many hotels near the airport, most offer free shuttle buses so check the airport’s or your hotel’s website.
For travellers who want maximum convenience, there are multiple car rental operators stationed at YUL including Alamo, Avis, Dollar, Enterprise, Hertz, National and Thrifty. While you can often just walk up to their counters to reserve a car it can be a hassle to do it on the spot, so I always recommend reserving one in advance to make sure you get the best price and the exact vehicle you want.
Getting through security at YUL
Depending on your destination, there are two security areas at Montreal’s airport. One for domestic and international travellers and another for those flying to the United States.
Both are operated by the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority who will X-ray your carry-on items and make you walk through a scanner, but on the American side they make you take off your shoes, a security ritual that I’ve always found annoying, but will probably never change.
Considering the large volume of passengers that YUL processes compared to other Canadian airports, the security lines move surprisingly fast. It’s probably busiest in the early morning when business travellers are catching commuter flights, but there are other peaks in the late afternoon and early evening when airlines are heading to Europe.
The airport also operates its free YULExpress service that you can sign up for through its website which allows you to set a specific time to access security checkpoints, up to 72 hours before your flight departure time, and enjoy a priority line once at YUL.
If you’re at all worried about missing your flight, the website also has a page that displays the estimated wait times for both security areas and for the immigration control area for incoming passengers.
Getting through customs and Immigration at YUL
International arrivals at YUL have to pass through immigration before they can pick up their luggage and leave the airport.
The walk from the gate to the immigration area can be quite long. If you have any kind of mobility issues or are especially heavily laden with baggage, there are stops indicated along the way where drivers pass in carts to transport people to immigration.
Once at immigration, you will fill out an electronic customs form at a Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) primary inspection kiosk which will spit out a paper receipt that you have to show to a customs inspector who will ask you some questions before allowing you into the country. Keep that paper because you will have to hand it to a customs officer after you collect your luggage at the carousel or even if you only have a carry-on bag. In rare cases, they may ask you for a secondary inspection of your bags.
Despite the large number of automated kiosks, this line can sometimes get quite long, especially if several large overseas flights have arrived at the airport in rapid succession. I always jump the line by using the CBSA’s free ArriveCAN app to fill out my customs declaration form in advance. There is a special queue reserved just for ArriveCAN app users and since most people forget the app exists, the line is usually empty.
For passengers flying to the United States, Montreal’s airport has a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) preclearance station. You will complete all of your American border formalities here and be able to step off your plane in the States, collect your baggage and walk out of the airport as if you were an American domestic passenger.
Preclearance lines are especially long in the early morning when business passengers are heading en masse to the U.S. Nexus card holders can skip the line, but I don’t like paying the annual fee so I use the CBP’s free Mobile Passport Control app on my smartphone which lets me get into a shorter line ahead of the other non-Nexus travellers. The only problem is it seems more people have discovered this advantage and the time-saving is not as great as it used to be.
The best bars and restaurants at YUL
Montreal is well known for its outstanding nightlife and culinary scene and while YUL’s restaurants and bars might not compete with what you’d find in the city, they are still head and shoulders above what you’d find in most Canadian airports.
There is a wide selection of fast-food and sit-down options at YUL and which bars and restos you will encounter depends on which part of the airport you are flying from as the international, domestic and U.S. areas are separate.
If I was going to recommend one place it would Lesters Deli Express if only to sample Montreal’s famous smoked meat sandwiches. It’s one of my favourite meals so if I’m flying to the U.S., I head to Lesters where they serve sandwiches heaping with meat on rye bread with mustard and a pickle on the side.
My favourite spot in the international area is Hurley’s, a cozy sit-down outpost of the city’s legendary Irish pub of the same name that offers great food and great drink.
On the domestic side, I suggest Pork & Pickle, a family-dining restaurant that boasts its own smokehouse. They have a creative menu of delicious dishes including their house-smoked brisket poutine, Atlantic smoked salmon salad and smoked pork ribs.
This KAYAK-commissioned article is presented as-is, for general informational purposes only, and may not be up-to-date. The opinions contained in the article are original to the author and reflect their authentic experience, which may vary significantly from the experience of others.
