On our free beach trip to Jamaica, we flew in and out of Sangster International Airport. Read our Montego Bay Airport review to get a feel for what it was like.
With the airport code MBJ (Montego Bay Jamaica), Sangster International Airport is a pretty small airport as you might expect for an island like Jamaica.
Montego Bay Airport tl;dr
Situated on stunning Montego Bay, Sangster International Airport is the main airport in Jamaica. Since this anniversary trip was the first of our 20+ free vacations, we didn’t know what to expect.
As we made our landing over Montego Bay, Zuzu and I were floored with breathtaking views of the coastline.
Once we got off the plane, we made it through immigration, customs, and security in just under an hour.
Although we didn’t use it, you may want to consider the Club Mobay VIP Arrival Service Fast Track to bypass the lines.
The Hyatt Zilara Rose Hall arrival lounge provided a convenient check-in experience, and baggage claim was efficient. Departure was easy, with quick security procedures and nearby duty-free shops.
Other Montego Bay Airport Reviews
There just aren’t many Montego Bay Airport reviews beside this one. As of 2023, all we can find are short Yelp style reviews of the airport or specific services like airport transfer shuttles.
Most of the other reviews seem to revolve around a single bad experience and are not a real review of MBJ airport.
Overall, we highly recommend Montego Bay Airport for its seamless operations and convenient access to many resorts in Jamaica. For us, it was the perfect starting and ending point for an unforgettable vacation.
Landing in Montego Bay
We had beautiful, sunny weather as our Southwest flight from Orlando approached Jamaica. Our 737 came in directly over Montego Bay at 1:30 pm local time.
btw, Jamaica is on Eastern Time, same as Miami and NYC.
We were treated to spectacular views of the water and the coast line. We were also able to see the contrast between the coast and the steep hills which are just inland from the airport.
Immigration, Customs & Security
After deplaning, we walked through several minutes of yellow walled corridors to get to the customs and immigration area. Sorry, no photos or videos were allowed once we got this far.
From what I’ve learned, the line for immigration can really be hit or miss. If you arrive at the same time as several other flights, the line can be very long. On the other hand, if there are not any other flights right when you arrive, I expect you can get through very quickly.
Our wait was about 50 minutes once we wound through the yellow maze.
Club Mobay VIP Arrival Service
Club Mobay offers a VIP “Meet & Greet” arrival service that will allow you to skip the immigration lines. They charge $50 per adult and $25 per kid (2-12 years old) for a fast track, “hassle-free” arrival process.
Montego Bay Airport Fast Track
If you purchase the Fast Track service, you get a dedicated lane for immigration and customs, which can save alot of time compared to waiting in regular lines. With this service, you can quickly get through the airport procedures and start enjoying your Jamaican vacation without delay.
Personalized Assistance: Guiding You Through
Some Fast Track packages include personalized assistance from airport staff. They can help guide you through the airport and facilitate the immigration process, making it more comfortable and hassle-free. We imagine this would be especially useful for first-time visitors to Montego Bay Airport.
Priority Baggage Handling
As a Fast Track customer, your checked luggage might receive priority handling, ensuring it arrives at the baggage claim area promptly. Again, here’s one more opportunity to get your Jamaican holiday started asap!
Access to VIP Lounges
Depending on the specific Fast Track package you choose, you might gain access to airport lounges. These lounges provide a comfortable space to relax, refresh, and enjoy amenities like complimentary food and beverages, Wi-Fi, and more. We’ve heard it’s an excellent way to unwind after a long flight or while waiting for a connection.
If you are likely to arrive at a peak time like the middle of the day, I think it can really be worth it. How much is a stress free start to your Jamaican vacation worth to you? The idea of gambling the cost of their VIP service versus the stress involved with standing in line for an hour or so might be a good trade off as you start your island vacation.
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Baggage Claim
Baggage at Montego Bay Airport claim was small and efficient.
However, we finally found the chaos once we claimed our bags and tried to get them through customs. Definitely not our worst experience but it was just crowded and unorganized. For example, it was not clear which baggage scanner lines were open and which lines were closed for us to go through.
On the positive side, there were free baggage carts at the Montego Bay airport if you had much baggage. Fortunately, Sandra and I were traveling light as we try to do on all of our travels.
Hotel Arrival Lounge
As we were staying at the Hyatt Zilara Rose Hall, we didn’t have to deal with transportation. Hyatt and several other all inclusive resorts in Jamaica have lounges in the airport where you can go to upon arrival.
The Hyatt lounge in the airport checked us into the resort and arranged round-trip transportation. Since this was in Covid times, they also scheduled our pre-departure Covid tests which required for reentry into the USA at the time.
If you’re looking for an All Inclusive vacation, Hyatt Zilara Rose Hall ranks as one of our favorite Hyatt All Inclusive Resorts.
Transportation
The Montego Bay Airport had the crazy transportation area that I’ve come to expect at many small destination airports. Lots of aggressive vendors trying to get your attention for whatever they were selling.
But we just followed our Hyatt transportation concierge to our shuttle bus past all of the vendors.
Departure
The departures terminal at the Montego Bay airport is really small. There was almost no line at the Southwest counter. We quickly passed through security, and the duty-free shop area.
And then we’re in the departures terminal.
There’s only a handful of gates so once you make it through security, you’re probably only a 2 to 3 minute walk from your gate even if you’re at the very far end of the terminal.
The Southwest gates were to the left which took us down toward a Starbucks and Jimmy Buffett‘s Margaritaville restaurant.
Restaurants and Food Court
The other end of the departures terminal contained more souvenir shops, the Club Mobay VIP lounge and the airport food court.
The food court has a good handful of international brands like Domino’s, Wendy’s and Quizno’s Subs. You’ll also find local flavors at places like Island Deli.
But the highlight of the airport restaurant options was definitely the Jamaican Bobsled Cafe.
You can even get a picture in one of the original Jamaican Bobsleds used by their Olympic team!
Montego Bay Airport Lounge
There’s a great little lounge on the east end of the departure terminal.
The Club Mobay VIP Lounge is a comfortable place to spend some time as you wait for your flight out of Montego Bay.
Priority Pass Lounge Montego Bay
Club Mobay is the only Sangster Airport Lounge available to Priority Pass holders. One important point is there is both a Club Mobay Arrivals lounge and a Club Mobay Departures Lounge.
While Priority Pass for Montego Bay shows we can access both, we didn’t use the arrivals lounge. Maybe if we got in really early and our room wasn’t going to be ready we would have. But that wasn’t the case so we were ready to get to the Hyatt Zilara.
When I catch up with writing, you can read our full Club Mobay Lounge review here.
Jamaica Time (JAM) is the official time at Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay. Since Jamaica does not observe Daylight Savings Time, the airport is on Eastern Standard Time (EST) in the winter. In the summer, MBJ airport is on Central Daylight Time.
While the standard answer is 3 hours, we could have made it in less than 30 minutes. Next time we fly through MBJ, we’ll probably arrive 2 hours before our flight.
4.4 million passengers flew through Sangster International Airport in 2022. MBJ can handle a maximum of 9 million passengers per year.
Bottom Line: Montego Bay Airport
If you’ve never been to Jamaica, I think you’ll enjoy the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay. It’s a small airport which you can get through very quickly and has everything you need in order to start and end a great vacation in Jamaica.
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Since Zuzu & I started using the 1 Hotel, 1 Airline, 1 Bank strategy, we’ve been able to take about 5 free trips every year! Learn how we travel for free and where we’ve been!