CityNews test drive highlights gridlock at Montreal airport

Travellers heading to Montréal–Trudeau International Airport are reporting severe traffic delays on the access roads, with recent coverage from CityNews showing that what was once a short drive can now stretch toward an hour or more at peak times.

Construction Work Collides With Rising Passenger Volumes

Reports from local media and traveller accounts indicate that vehicle congestion around Montréal–Trudeau has intensified over the past year, as major construction projects converge with steadily rising passenger numbers. The airport, which handled more than 20 million passengers annually before the pandemic and has been climbing back toward that level, is undergoing a multi‑year modernization of its terminal forecourt and road network.

Coverage from CityNews and other outlets describes how the demolition of a central parking structure and partial closures of elevated ramps have constricted already limited curbside space. Temporary lane reductions on key approaches are funnelling cars, taxis, shuttles and buses into fewer access points, particularly during early morning and late afternoon banked departures.

In this context, even routine slowdowns are quickly turning into gridlock. Drivers report long queues forming well before the terminal comes into view, in some cases backing up toward Highway 20 and spilling onto surrounding surface roads in Dorval. For travellers watching flight departure times tick closer on their phones, the uncertainty of how long that final stretch will take has become a growing concern.

Airport planning documents and public briefings emphasize that the works are designed to increase capacity and improve circulation in the long term. In the short term, however, the combination of construction bottlenecks and strong seasonal travel demand is testing the limits of the current layout.

CityNews Puts the Drive to the Test

To gauge how bad things have become, CityNews recently sent a crew to drive to Montréal–Trudeau at different times of day and documented the experience on the main access routes. Their test runs, conducted during both the morning and afternoon peaks, showed that what navigation apps estimated as a 15 to 20 minute trip from central and west‑end neighbourhoods could balloon to roughly 45 minutes or more once vehicles hit chokepoints near the terminal.

The report highlighted several pressure points that repeatedly slowed traffic to a crawl. Merging zones where multiple lanes narrow toward the departure and arrival ramps forced drivers into stop‑and‑go movement. Temporary signage and unfamiliar detours around the demolished parking facility added hesitation as motorists tried to find the correct lane for drop‑off, long‑term parking or car‑rental returns.

CityNews also observed that small incidents such as double‑parked vehicles, slow luggage unloading or buses trying to re‑enter traffic had an outsized impact because there is so little spare capacity in the system. Once a queue formed, there were few opportunities for drivers to bypass the blockages, reinforcing a sense among travellers that any minor disruption could jeopardize their check‑in or security window.

The test drive segments echo what has been circulating on social media and community forums, where some travellers describe asking taxis or rideshares to stop short of the terminal and walking the final distance with their luggage to avoid missing flights.

New Rideshare Pickup Rules Add Another Layer

Complicating the picture for arriving passengers, the airport has recently reconfigured pickup locations for app‑based services such as Uber and Lyft. According to CityNews coverage, rideshare customers are now directed to a designated area away from the main terminal curb, requiring a short walk or shuttle ride depending on the time of day and the exact pickup point.

Some travellers interviewed in these reports describe confusion when emerging from the terminal and realizing that vehicles booked through apps cannot pull up to the usual curbside zones. They recount spending additional time navigating wayfinding signs, crossing busy lanes or following crowded paths toward the new pickup area before they are even able to meet their driver.

The airport authority has stated in public information materials that these changes are intended to improve overall traffic flow and reduce congestion at the busiest points on the forecourt. Concentrating rideshare vehicles in a dedicated zone is presented as a way to prevent them from circulating or stopping unpredictably near arrivals and departures.

In practice, though, the shift appears to have front‑loaded some of the delay into the passenger experience. CityNews footage and traveller posts suggest that while the main curb may flow slightly better at times, the process of locating a rideshare and waiting for it to navigate the internal road network can significantly extend the time it takes to leave the airport.

Traveller Experiences Highlight Unpredictability

A consistent theme emerging from recent accounts is not just that traffic is heavy, but that it is highly unpredictable. Local residents say there are days when access is relatively smooth, followed by evenings when congestion becomes so intense that vehicles inch forward for long stretches or stand still altogether.

On community forums, some drivers recount journeys from central Montreal neighbourhoods that took more than two hours during peak periods, with the worst delays concentrated in the last few kilometres approaching the terminal. Others report leaving home with what used to be a comfortable buffer, only to arrive with minutes to spare after unexpected backups near the airport access ramps.

These stories are echoed in televised segments where travellers tell CityNews that they now budget significantly more time for the drive than they did even a year ago. Some describe building in an extra hour during Friday rush hour or at the start of school holidays, treating the approach to Montréal–Trudeau as potentially the longest segment of their entire trip.

The variability is particularly problematic for visitors unfamiliar with local traffic patterns, who may rely solely on navigation apps that cannot fully account for sudden slowdowns caused by construction staging, lane changes or weather‑related incidents.

Planning Ahead: How Travellers Are Adapting

In response to the mounting reports of gridlock, public information campaigns and news coverage alike are emphasizing preparation. Travellers are being urged to check traffic conditions in real time, allow more time than usual to reach the airport and consider alternatives to driving directly to the terminal during the busiest windows.

Some passengers are turning to public transit links such as the 747 airport bus and regional shuttles, which are designed to bypass some of the worst choke points and offer more predictable travel times from downtown. Others are arranging to be dropped off at less congested locations near the airport and walking a short distance, especially when travelling with light luggage.

Travel commentators note that the situation around Montréal–Trudeau is part of a wider pattern seen at major hubs where rapid growth and long‑planned infrastructure projects coincide. The difference in Montreal, they argue, is the constrained footprint of the airport site and the heavy reliance on just a few access roads, which leave little margin when construction or incidents reduce capacity.

For now, the CityNews road test and the steady stream of traveller anecdotes serve as a stark reminder that at Montréal–Trudeau, the journey from home to the terminal door may require as much careful timing as the flight itself.