Your Ultimate Guide to Navigating Montréal's Airport Efficiently 

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• Sarah Cronin

Lifting off from Burlington International Airport has a lot to recommend it: proximity, a solid book exchange, preflight pints at the Skinny Pancake. Anecdotes suggest good odds, moreover, of spotting at least one member of Phish (or, at the very least, of Vermont's congressional delegation). There are rocking chairs; it's cute as a button. But as frequent flyers know, big airports have their advantages, too.

Montréal's flagship airport — Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, also known as YUL — offers nearly nine times more daily takeoffs and landings than BTV. That means more options and, often, cheaper flights. When analysts at booking aggregation site KAYAK compared round-trip economy flights over a four-month period between each airport and their top 10 final destinations in common — cities that include Los Angeles; Cancún, Mexico; and London, England — they found that the flights originating in Burlington cost 42 percent more, on average, than those from Montréal.

When the traffic cooperates, YUL is just a couple of hours from Burlington — two sing-alongs to the Stick Season album, if you press pause for the border crossing. But flying out of Montréal does take a bit of strategy, from securing safe parking to organizing international travel documents. Here's the deal with YUL and what you need to know if you're using the airport this summer travel season.

You Can't Get There From Here

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• Sarah Cronin

Direct flights out of Montréal head to 157-odd destinations, from Algiers to Zurich. Perhaps unsurprising in a city whose winter lows could freeze a woodchuck out of the Green Mountains, those cover an abundance of warm-weather locales, including Mexican resort towns, several Caribbean countries and eight cities in Cuba.

While Seven Days does not endorse this sort of thing (ahem), some Vermont travelers advise that flying to Cuba from Montréal has remained a convenient option amid travel restrictions that wax and wane with U.S. foreign policy. Cuban border guards reportedly even offer to forego stamping your passport.

Of note in recent years: In 2023, YUL added Emirates and the budget-friendly Dominican airline Arajet to its lineup of carriers. Colombia's own flagship airline, Avianca, made a Montréal debut in March with direct flights to Bogotá. Starting this year, low-cost airline Sun Country, which also flies out of BTV, will offer seasonal direct flights between Montréal and Minneapolis. And in June, the Montréal-based Air Transat will become the only airline in North America to offer direct flights to Marrakech, Morocco.

Montréal's Once and Future Airport(s)

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• Sarah Cronin

Some readers may remember Montréal's airport by another name. In the words of Seven Days publisher Paula Routly: "What happened to Dorval?" Like our very own Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport, it just got a prolix rebrand. Dorval Airport opened in 1941, then in 2004 was dubbed Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport in honor of the beloved Outremont-raised former prime minister. (Also known as Justin's dad.) Confusing matters further is the city's other airport, Montréal-Mirabel International Airport (YMX). Mirabel was the main gateway for international flights from 1975 to 1997 but was widely seen as inconvenient and now mostly handles cargo.

YUL, meanwhile, is bustling to a fault — a record-breaking 21.2 million passengers passed through last year, and between 2022 and 2023 the airport saw faster growth than any other in Canada. It's brought noise complaints from surrounding communities and serious traffic snarls. Last fall, Montréal taxi drivers told the CBC that backups were so bad that passengers regularly exited cars and walked to avoid missed flights. At an April press conference, Yves Beauchamp, president and CEO of ADM Aéroports de Montréal, announced a plan aimed at easing that congestion by adding more parking lots, a new drop-off area and satellite boarding gates by 2028.

Until then, plan strategically to dodge the worst of it — avoiding rush hour is a good place to start. An express drop-off area debuted on May 1 at the new parking structure, P4 (590 boulevard Albert-de-Niverville, Dorval); a second express drop-off area will open near the Chemin de la Côte-de-Liesse access road in time for the summer season. Eric Forest, a spokesperson for ADM Aéroports de Montréal, wrote in an email that free five-minute shuttles would serve those drop-off areas this summer to ease congestion closer to the airport itself. All airport parking lots will also be free for the first 40 minutes this summer, Forest noted. If you're picking someone up, the three CellParc lots are free for up to two hours.

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• Sarah Cronin

Get Your Papers in Order

Crossing an international border en route to the airport adds an undeniable chaos factor. To avoid unforeseen delays, check border wait times and get your paperwork squared away: You should carry a valid passport, enhanced driver's license or NEXUS card, for one. As we reported in last year's Québec travel issue, a birth certificate and photo identification theoretically work if you don't have those but may take more time to process at the border. Same goes for minors: If they have passports, bring those along. Otherwise, minors under the age of 16 must have a birth certificate, while those 16 to 18 should present a birth certificate and photo ID. If one parent is traveling with children, they will need a letter from the other parent giving permission for the trip and including a contact number. Visit sevendaysvt.com for more tips to get over the border, including what you need to know about going to Canada with a DUI on your record.

Flight Fuel

You can find some half-decent eats once you get past security at YUL, such as the craft beers and French-accented bar snacks — fondue, onion soup — of Québec-based mini chain Archibald Microbrasserie (archibaldmicrobrasserie.ca, 514-687-9977) by Gate 51 in the domestic terminal. But if you have time, consider the pre- or postflight offerings beyond the airport. Exploring the surrounding West Island area, which visitors to Montréal generally skip, pays off in some memorable meals. While its suburban sprawl lacks the charm of more central areas, such as Old Montréal or Mile End, it's also a breeze to park during dinner.

There are Afghan specialties at Restaurant Aryana (aryanaresto.com, 514-683-9595), including a leek-stuffed ravioli called ashak and Kabuli pilow, a national dish of basmati rice piled high with braised veal. Some partisans insist that Bombay Choupati (facebook.com/bombaychoupati, 514-421-3130), with its memorable versions of the savory crêpes called dosas, serves the best Indian meals on the island of Montréal. Likewise, the low-key, family-owned Beck's Cuisine and Catering (beckscuisine.com, 514-676-0900) is known for top-notch Filipino cuisine. Its deep-fried pork belly, or lechon, wins raves.

The Public Option

For Québec aficionados in Vermont, pining for better public transit to Montréal is an old refrain. That we had a train last century, then lost it, still grates; the Montréaler stopped rolling in 1995. However, travelers with flexible schedules can still get to Montréal, and to YUL, by bus. Greyhound offers twice-daily departures from the Burlington Downtown Transit Center to the centrally located Gare d'Autocars de Montréal, a three-hour journey that costs US$21.49. The bus station adjoins the Berri-UQAM metro station, from which you can hail a cab for the remaining 12 miles or catch the 24-hour 747 YUL Aéroport/Centre-Ville bus to the airport. (Pay for the bus with the Chrono or Transit mobile apps or buy a ticket on board with CA$11 in exact change.)

Safe Parking

If you're driving yourself to the airport, you'll need a place to park. Given the ongoing car-theft problem in Montréal (and Canada more broadly), it's worth being choosy. Parking at one of the airport's official lots is convenient and generally safe but also a more expensive option. Covered spaces a five-minute walk from the terminal run CA$37 for 24 hours, while EconoParc lots range from CA$30-36 for 24 hours, including the use of around-the-clock shuttle buses to the airport. If you're parking at the airport, reserve spots online in advance.

Many hotels near the airport also offer parking, and you can compare options at aggregation websites such as parksleepfly.com. A recent search showed spaces from CA$15-25 per day in uncovered self-park lots at hotels with free 24-hour shuttles. Other hotels offer free parking along with a paid overnight; depending on the duration of your trip, that could be cheaper than parking alone. The Sheraton Montréal Airport Hotel includes 10 days of parking with a one-night stay; the Residence Inn by Marriott Montréal Airport has overnight packages including up to 15 days of parking. Security measures vary.

If you're going on a long trip — or really trying to cut costs — you can also park farther away and take public transit to YUL. By-reservation, secure long-term parking at the Olympic Stadium is a relative deal: CA$45 for eight days and CA$160 for 30 days. From Olympic Stadium, you can access the connected Pie-IX Metro station and hop a green-line train to Lionel Groulx. The 747 YUL Aéroport/Centre-Ville bus runs around the clock from Lionel Groulx to the airport.