Airport Airport

YUL Montreal International Airport Security Times

IATA Code:

YUL

Timezone:

UTC/GMT -4:00 hours

Airport local time:

Saturday, 2:51pm


Wait times are steady
Last Updated:
2:39 PM (UTC/GMT -4:00 hours)2026-04-04
Add Your Time
  • Data

    Qsensor makes use of data from CATSA for this airport.

  • Disclaimer

    Waiting times may not accurately reflect your experience. It is advisable to arrive at the airport well in advance and follow the recommendations of the airlines and airports.

  • Airport Last Updated

    2:39 PM (UTC/GMT -4:00 hours)2026-04-04

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Wait Times by Day of Week

Average wait times based on the last 3 weeks of data.

3m
Mon
3m
Tue
3m
Wed
3m
Thu
4m
Fri
3m
Sat
3m
Sun

The average wait time at 2 pm at this airport is 3 minutes

Based on data from the past 3 weeks.
Current: 3 min (Similar to usual: avg wait time is 3 min)

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Latest Airport Arrival Time
Domestic 1h 10m before departure
International 1h 30m before departure
How we calculated this

Bag drop closes 45-60 min before departure. With an estimated 25 min bag drop queue, you need to arrive at the desk 70-85 min early. After that, allow 3 min for security (avg on Saturdays) and 12 min to walk to your gate, which closes 15-20 min before departure.

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Best & Worst Times to Fly

Based on historical security wait times across all days of the week.

Best Time
Night
9pm - 4am
3 min avg wait
Worst Time
Early Morning
4am - 8am
4 min avg wait
Flying in the Night instead of Early Morning could save you up to 1 minutes in security lines.

Your Guide to Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (YUL)

YUL is the third-largest airport in Canada and the primary international gateway for Quebec, welcoming over 21 million passengers annually. Located approximately 20 km (12 miles) west of downtown Montréal in the suburb of Dorval, the airport serves as a major global hub for Air Canada and Air Transat, offering non-stop flights to nearly 150 destinations worldwide.

Currently, YUL is in a phase of significant transformation, with major infrastructure projects underway to modernise its terminal and ground transportation zones. Distinctively, it is one of the few airports in the world equipped with U.S. border preclearance, allowing passengers bound for the United States to clear U.S. Customs and Immigration in Montréal before departure, enabling them to land in the U.S. as domestic passengers.

Montreal International Airport FAQ

The current Security wait time at Montreal International Airport is approximately 3 minutes.

Security wait times at Montreal International Airport vary throughout the day. Check the historical wait time chart on this page to find the quietest times.

As of January 26, 2026, the downtown terminus for the 747 bus has permanently moved. It is no longer at the Berri-UQAM bus station. The new departure and arrival point is Stop 52905, located at the intersection of Boulevard René-Lévesque and Rue Berri. This is a street-level stop, approximately a 10-minute walk from the former bus station. At the airport, the bus departs from the Arrivals level at Door 28.

Yes, but with strict limitations. If paying on board, you must use coins only (no bills) and provide exact change ($11.25). To pay with a credit or debit card, you must buy a ticket before boarding from the vending machines or the STM information desk located inside the terminal at International Arrivals (Door 28).

Pickup locations depend on the service level you choose, causing frequent confusion:

  • UberX: Proceed to Door 28 on the Arrivals level. You will join a queue and use a PIN code to match with the next available driver.
  • UberXL, Uber Comfort, and Lyft: You cannot be picked up at the curb. You must go to the P4 Express Drop-off area. To get there, go up to the Departures level and take the shuttle from Door 11, or walk approximately 10 minutes.

Parking is severely constrained due to the permanent closure of the Multi-Level and P5 lots.

  • Economy: The new AeroParc A1 opened in January 2026 as a budget alternative to P9, offering shuttle service every 15 minutes.
  • Pick-up: To avoid circling, use the CellParc lot (free for 2 hours) or the P4/P10 Express Drop-off zones (free for 40 minutes between 1 p.m. and 8 p.m.).

This depends on your specific flight tag. Check your baggage claim tag for the letters “ITD” (International to Domestic).

  • If your tag says ITD: Your bags are automatically transferred. You do not need to pick them up.
  • If your tag does NOT say ITD: You must pick up your bags after clearing customs, then walk them to the “Connections Drop-off Belt” located immediately after the exit.

The official Minimum Connection Time for the airport are:

  • Domestic to Domestic: ~40 minutes.
  • Domestic to International: ~60 minutes.
  • International to Canada: ~70-90 minutes.
  • International to US: ~60-90 minutes.

YUL Express is a free service that lets you book a specific time slot for security screening up to 72 hours before your flight. This allows you to access a priority line at Checkpoint A (Domestic/International) or Checkpoint C (U.S. flights). It is highly recommended during peak travel times.

Yes. If you are flying to the U.S., you will clear U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in Montreal before you board. You land in the U.S. as a domestic passenger. Tip: Download the Mobile Passport Control (MPC) app to access a dedicated, faster line at U.S. customs.

You can purchase SIM cards at the Chatr / Fido / Rogers kiosks located on the Arrivals level between Door 27 and Door 28.

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Live data: For the majority of the airports we track we use live data from the airport. For the remaining airports we provide a modelled projection, combined with crowdsourced data.

Search: By airport name, IATA code, city, county, country or region. To save you time, we keep your last visited airports on the front page. If you can’t find an airport, contact us using the contact form and we will look to add it. 

Current average wait time: The airport’s latest average security, passport control or customs queue wait time. If the airport has multiple queues, we display the average of them. If you want a more granular view that includes wait times for individual queues, take a look at the terminal level wait times. We regularly update each airport’s data,  but make sure you click the “i” icon to check when the last update was made.

Terminal level wait times: The latest security or customs queue wait time for individual terminals. Click on the terminal to access more information at the terminal level. Please note that this data is not available for all airports. We are working to expand this functionality to as many airports as possible.

Historical wait times: The typical wait time on different days and times over the past 2 weeks. Click the filter at the top right of the graph to cycle through the days of the week.

Add a security or customs queue wait time: How was your airport security experience? Contribute to the community by inputting your wait time. This feature is only available for airports where Qsensor does not automatically track data. To add a wait time, simply click the “Add Your Time” button on the airports page and follow the instructions.

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Please note that this data is monitored and may be modified or deleted if found to be invalid.

Click the “i” icon to view and take note of more contextual information on each airport. “Airport Last Updated” denotes the last time the data was refreshed.

Our sources for wait time data vary and may include air travel data aggregators, federal agencies such as the TSA, CATSA CBP, or information from the airport and its affiliated service providers. For some airports, Qsensor utilises its proprietary queue modelling technology to project wait times. Additionally, we crowdsource data from passengers who have input their wait time using the “Add Your Time” button.

Qsensor is not affiliated with any airport, airline, or associated service provider.

We regularly check queue times and flight delays for accuracy, however all times are estimates and waiting times and delays may not accurately reflect your experience. It is advisable to arrive at the airport well in advance and follow the recommendations of the airlines and airports.

There are a wide array of ways that queue data is measured. Including but not limited to looking at how long a passenger takes to get from scanning their boarding pass to exiting the security or customs area. Auditing passengers on how long it took them to pass through security or customs as well as Qsensors’ proprietary system for user added wait times. 

For airport wait times, we currently support over 140 airports worldwide. Whether it be London Heathrow, Istanbul, or Miami – we have got you covered. More are added all the time. Is Qsensor missing an airport that you want to be supported? We are more than happy to accommodate your request, get in touch via the contact form. 

For flight delays and cancellations, we currently support 12 airports, with the goal of expanding coverage going forwards.

Qsensor automatically tracks wait times for a variety of airports including London Heathrow, Frankfurt, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta, Chicago O’Hare, Amsterdam Schiphol, Kempegowda Bangalore, Madrid Barajas, Hong Kong, Istanbul, and many more!

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Get insights into flight on-time performance and make better travel decisions. Please note, this feature is not available for all airports, but we’re adding more all the time!

To keep wait times relevant, the message “There is currently no data for this airport.” is shown when no traveller has recently inputted a wait time.

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For airports Qsensor automatically tracks, this message may also be shown if we haven’t recently gotten data from the airport. This typically rectifies itself within 12 hours.

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