The process for clearing customs and proceeding to a domestic flight was fantastic. Our US flight was delayed 45 min making the connection really tight and staff were at the customs area waiting to assist us. It was straight forward and quick - far better than connecting through YYZ.
Arrived 2:00 with a 6:45 AM connecting flight. Went to my departure gate to sleep until boarding, and got rousted out by a security guard. Had to leave the secure area and go back through security. Apparently they hate sleep. I hope they feel like crap that a city 1/3 the size (Calgary) has displaced them as 3rd busiest airport in Canada.
Having a five hour wait for my connecting flight, I was disappointed with the lack of good sit down places to eat. The airport is okay but a bit dingy compared to Vancouver. Great city but dismal airport.
Going through Customs at Dorval - after you've walked through the maze to get in line - is so ridiculous that we no longer fly into Dorval. We would rather fly to an airport across the border and drive through customs. Much more relaxing and car rentals are much, much more reasonable than at the Dorval airport.
1)Last flight to Charlottetown always delayed. Always a different reason
2)Ground crew work for the Sopranos - if you land 1 minute early or or 1 minute late, the ground crew needs to be redispatched, forget it if lightning is seens 1000kms away, cus they are not going on the tarmac.
3)Small, dirty washrooms
4)Narrow congrested corridors
5)Terminal A under the tunnel is always sweltering hot
You have ho help from anyone when you tried to check-in. It is the worst airport ever to catch a flight. Last friday on the security were badly organized, we lined up for hours. The plane to newark went one hour later (quite common) because the pilots couldn`t get in time through security. We lost our connections in Newark, because of that. Never again, it was a nightmare.
This is a hard airport to love, which is sad, since it serves one of North America's nicest cities. Everything seems to be badly organized: when you transfer from an international flight to a domestic one, you have to exit and reenter security, which is non-trivial when you might have to line up for an hour. In customs, they keep opening and reopening dividers to make new lines, so people who've just gotten off a plane might be let through ahead of people who have been waiting 20 minutes. The whole airport seems a bit dingy and run-down, there's not much good food (in *Montreal's* airport!!!), and nothing's particularly well organized.
I wouldn't use YUL as a connector airport if I had the choice, but if you're visiting Montreal itself, it's worth putting up with the hassle to visit such a great city. If you're coming from Toronto, though, take the train instead.
Dorval Aviation, a flight school located on the field, can rent you a C172 to fly around the area following a short rental checkout with an instructor. A C172 floatplane is also available on the river northeast of Montreal.
Montreal's a great city for food, but don't bother with the airport -- there's not much there, especially once you're through security. Bring something with you.
They make you go out into the public area and then line up for security again when transferring from an international to a domestic flight -- it can be pretty frustrating when the security lineup is long and you have a tight connection.
YUL comments
Latest comments
Thank you YUL
🔗 Mon, 24 Jun 2019
— Anonymous Flyer at Montreal / Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, Canada Reply
The process for clearing customs and proceeding to a domestic flight was fantastic. Our US flight was delayed 45 min making the connection really tight and staff were at the customs area waiting to assist us. It was straight forward and quick - far better than connecting through YYZ.
plane sotting
🔗 Sun, 19 Jun 2016
— Anonymous Flyer at Montreal / Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, Canada Reply
i go plane sotting a lot
Deserves to drop behnd Calgary
🔗 Tue, 18 Feb 2014
— Anonymous Flyer at Montreal / Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, Canada Reply
Arrived 2:00 with a 6:45 AM connecting flight. Went to my departure gate to sleep until boarding, and got rousted out by a security guard. Had to leave the secure area and go back through security. Apparently they hate sleep. I hope they feel like crap that a city 1/3 the size (Calgary) has displaced them as 3rd busiest airport in Canada.
re: Poor food choices
🔗 Thu, 26 Sep 2013
— Anonymous Flyer at Montreal / Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, Canada Reply
you serious ? Vancouver has to be the worse airport for Duty Free.....Bourbon and Cuban cigars they have NO idea and they move at a snails pace
gimme the east coast any day
Poor food choices
🔗 Thu, 21 Feb 2013
— Anonymous Flyer at Montreal / Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, Canada Reply
Having a five hour wait for my connecting flight, I was disappointed with the lack of good sit down places to eat. The airport is okay but a bit dingy compared to Vancouver. Great city but dismal airport.
re: Visiting pilots
🔗 Wed, 08 Aug 2012
— Anonymous Flyer at Montreal / Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, Canada Reply
Reply to @philippe: do u need to make an appointment and how much is it? and how old do u need to be?
re: Poor Dorval
🔗 Sun, 08 Jul 2012
— Anonymous Flyer at Montreal / Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, Canada Reply
Going back to Mirabel sounds like it would make a bad problem worse.
Poor Dorval
🔗 Sat, 07 Jul 2012
— Anonymous Flyer at Montreal / Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, Canada Reply
Reopen Mirabel and shut down Dorval for good.
Dorval Customs Cattle Line
🔗 Thu, 28 Jun 2012
— Anonymous Flyer at Montreal / Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, Canada Reply
Going through Customs at Dorval - after you've walked through the maze to get in line - is so ridiculous that we no longer fly into Dorval. We would rather fly to an airport across the border and drive through customs. Much more relaxing and car rentals are much, much more reasonable than at the Dorval airport.
Worst Airport Ever
🔗 Fri, 13 May 2011
— Anonymous Flyer at Montreal / Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, Canada Reply
Let me list the reasons:
1)Last flight to Charlottetown always delayed. Always a different reason
2)Ground crew work for the Sopranos - if you land 1 minute early or or 1 minute late, the ground crew needs to be redispatched, forget it if lightning is seens 1000kms away, cus they are not going on the tarmac.
3)Small, dirty washrooms
4)Narrow congrested corridors
5)Terminal A under the tunnel is always sweltering hot
6)Terrrible food selection
Innotech (Shell) contact info
🔗 Sun, 14 Nov 2010
— @david at Montreal / Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, Canada Reply
514-636-5870
10175 Ryan Ave-Dorval Intl
Dorval, QC, CANADA H9P 1A2
check-in
🔗 Sun, 05 Sep 2010
— Anonymous Flyer at Montreal / Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, Canada Reply
You have ho help from anyone when you tried to check-in. It is the worst airport ever to catch a flight. Last friday on the security were badly organized, we lined up for hours. The plane to newark went one hour later (quite common) because the pilots couldn`t get in time through security. We lost our connections in Newark, because of that. Never again, it was a nightmare.
Hard airport to love
🔗 Sun, 22 Mar 2009
— @david at Montreal / Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, Canada Reply
This is a hard airport to love, which is sad, since it serves one of North America's nicest cities. Everything seems to be badly organized: when you transfer from an international flight to a domestic one, you have to exit and reenter security, which is non-trivial when you might have to line up for an hour. In customs, they keep opening and reopening dividers to make new lines, so people who've just gotten off a plane might be let through ahead of people who have been waiting 20 minutes. The whole airport seems a bit dingy and run-down, there's not much good food (in *Montreal's* airport!!!), and nothing's particularly well organized.
I wouldn't use YUL as a connector airport if I had the choice, but if you're visiting Montreal itself, it's worth putting up with the hassle to visit such a great city. If you're coming from Toronto, though, take the train instead.
Visiting pilots
🔗 Wed, 18 Jul 2007
— @philippe at Montreal / Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, Canada Reply
Dorval Aviation, a flight school located on the field, can rent you a C172 to fly around the area following a short rental checkout with an instructor. A C172 floatplane is also available on the river northeast of Montreal.
Poor food
🔗 Tue, 05 Jun 2007
— Anonymous Flyer at Montreal / Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, Canada Reply
Montreal's a great city for food, but don't bother with the airport -- there's not much there, especially once you're through security. Bring something with you.
Intl/domestic transfers
🔗 Tue, 05 Jun 2007
— Anonymous Flyer at Montreal / Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, Canada Reply
They make you go out into the public area and then line up for security again when transferring from an international to a domestic flight -- it can be pretty frustrating when the security lineup is long and you have a tight connection.
Landing fees
🔗 Tue, 05 Jun 2007
— Anonymous Flyer at Montreal / Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, Canada Reply
Unfortunately, CYUL has brought in landing fees for private planes as of 2007. I think it's around $40 or so even for a light single (!!!).