Just how bad is YUL?
 

So, every time I've returned to the US from Canada, I've done so at YYZ. Worst I've ever faced there is how incredibly busy it can be at times.

On the 18th, I'll be returning through to the US through YUL, an airport I've never been to. And I've been reading up a bit and... it just sounds like a nightmare.

So, some questions:

YYZ goes check in (to get bag tag), then preclearance hall for CBP, then security, then off to the gate. What I've been seeing is that YUL swaps the middle two steps, clearing security before doing CBP. Is that correct?

I'm seeing a recurring theme in complaints that officers refused to let people even enter the security line if they weren't in real danger of missing their flights, and that the line itself was effectively being constantly re-sorted by flight departure time rather than arrival-at-line time. If I hadn't seen the same thing in multiple reviews/complaints I wouldn't have taken it seriously, but it does seem to come up again and again. Is there any truth to that?

Anyone with experience using Global Entry: again, a lot of complaints. People report that although they have the kiosks they essentially always spit out an 'X' and send you into normal processing, and that there's no expedited security for trusted travelers. True/false?

I'm at the point of trying to plan my last day in Montreal, and working out when I should arrive in order to clear everything and make my flight (US Airways to PHL, for what it's worth), so any information from people with experience of YUL would be useful :)

What time is your flight?

The bottle neck was never security IMHO, but the understaffed CBP station. That is improved now with machine processing for the majority of travelers at YUL

Will be on 5:59PM US Airways to PHL, Friday April 18.

Holiday Friday...... you should be fine with 1h15-1h30 min arrival at airport prior to dept.

a nightmare?? - not!
 

1st point..........I find the "subject" line of your message misleading, if not objectionable.

Yes, YUL has issues. More on that shortly. But its misleading to ask "how bad" is YUL & ask if its a "nightmare"? YYZ has issues, and you can read all about them on FT.

Having said that, I had occasion to write to the YUL Airport Authority about some of these issues. I have reproduced below their reply. As for your specific questions:
- yes, they have GE machines. My concern was the staff were not correctly informing px.
- NEXUS lanes are not well marked so you need to ask. Its a busy airport and there is lots of construction at the moment.

PM me if you have more specific questions. But please, do not condemn the entire airport!!

We have noted your comments and we thank you for taking the time to send them. They are addressed below:

· Unfortunately, the walk from domestic arrivals to the U.S. departures area on connecting flights can be long, especially if your flight arrives at gates 17 to 34. There is a shuttle service available for part of the way.

· Aéroports de Montréal puts every effort to ensure the Nexus lanes are used properly and that Nexus passengers have the advantages offered by the program.

· From the description of your trip, you would not have met a CBSA agent (Custom Border Services Agent) as you did not clear Canadian Customs. Can you please confirm if the officer was a US CBP officer (US Customs) or an agent at the control checkpoint? This will permit us to address your comment on the Global Enrollment to the appropriate agency to ensure they inform their personnel.

· We will issue a reminder to our personnel regarding the GE machines.

· The area for connecting flights is “common use” by all airlines. There cannot be signage for a particular airline or destination.

I've flown through YYZ plenty of times. As noted, the worst I've ever encountered there was just how mind-blowingly busy it can be, and the consequences of that. Which is... well, that happens at a lot of airports.

My concern was that the specific things I asked about at YUL, as far as the security lines, were specific detailed complaints I had seen made by passengers. The departure-time effect on the security line, for example. I've never seen that happen at YYZ, but I have seen staff there make plenty of token attempts to pull people to the front of the check-in lines based on departure time (often fruitlessly, since there was no way those passengers would make it through preclearance and security in time).

The idea that people wouldn't even be permitted to enter the security line -- which, again, was a specific complaint I saw multiple people make -- would be an entirely different level of problem. Hence I asked about that.

Again, I'm just pointing out concerns raised from my own poking around in various forums. The complaints are out there, and I don't feel it's unreasonable, when I see that kind of thing, to turn to what I consider a reputable source (people on FT, who are likely to have tons of experience with airports/airlines) to find out what bits are true.

Better than YYZ due to it being a smaller airport and no connections tax.

Flew out on Friday as planned.

Was indeed understaffed, and encountered a variety of rude folks (including rudest US CBP officer I've ever met, who took my GE receipt and used the opportunity to yell at me a bit for asking when called up if that really was the GE exit line, on account of it only having NEXUS logo). Non-AC US-bound flights were a mess, though, and neither the monitors in the terminal nor the staff seemed to actually know what flights were going to be where -- at one point monitors insisted my flight (US Airways to PHL) and an AC flight to LAX were both at the same gate, leading to some very confused passengers and AC staff.

Not the worst airport or border experience I've ever had, of course. But not exactly great either :(

Oh, and just in case I sound too down on YUL, it is the new hands-down champion in one category -- most times scanning my boarding pass. All told from the time I stepped into the terminal to the time the plane's wheels went up, my boarding pass was scanned by eight different people :)