The Gazette
29 July 2026
Flights to the United States from Trudeau airport gradually resumed Wednesday as U.S. customs officers returned to duty after refusing to staff the preclearance area because of the smell of varnish from construction work at the transit hub.
Around 8 a.m., U.S. Customs and Border Protection decided to suspend operations because of an odour from construction materials. The area was ventilated and an inspection by the Montreal fire department confirmed that the situation posed no health risk, Aéroports de Montréal spokesperson Eric Forest said in an email Wednesday morning.
Around 12:45 p.m., an announcement on the airport’s PA system said preclearance had restarted but that delays could be expected...
