Montego Bay Sangster Intl Airport (MBJ) Flights & Flight Status

Montego Bay’s Sangster International Airport (MBJ) is a popular tourist-oriented gateway to the beaches, resorts and cruise ports on the north shore of Jamaica. Huge high-season crowds and an ongoing multi-year airport construction project means transiting the airport could potentially be a stressful start or finish to your vacation. But follow these expert tips, and you can make your airport transit as smooth as the Caribbean Sea.

How to get to and from MBJ and Jamaican destinations

There’s nothing quite as stressful as exiting a terminal on your vacation only to find a waving, shouting mass of locals trying to hustle you to hire them for a ride. Touts often do mob the hot, humid exit area at MBJ, but you can completely avoid this hassle by arranging your ride before your trip, or even inside the terminal after you clear customs

Shuttle services at MBJ

I’d say the best transport option is a free shuttle service. Many hotels and resorts in the Montego Bay and other tourist areas offer pre-arranged free shuttles. Some of major resort chains even have lounge areas inside the airport arrivals terminal where passengers can wait with a cool drink for their shuttle to arrive.

Check with your resort ahead of time to see if they offer a shuttle or lounge. Even if your resort doesn’t offer a free service, I’d say it’s well worth your while to splurge to schedule a resort area shuttle, which are usually in new and comfortable vans or buses. A specific Airport Transfer and Tour Operator desk is in the arrivals hall after customs.

Taxis and rideshare services at MBJ

Jamaica currently doesn’t have Uber or Lyft rideshare services, but MBJ does have two official taxi services where you can sign up inside the terminal for a ride.

Airport taxi rates are regulated and rides are tracked, so you can be confident you’re getting a legitimate transfer to your destination. Check ahead of time to see how close your resort is to the airport. Some Montego Bay resorts can be upwards of 45 minutes from the airport. In those cases, I’d recommend joining a group shuttle for the value.

Rental cars at MBJ

MBJ has multiple rental car counters inside the terminal where you can book a car on the day of arrival with most major rental companies. You can do so on-site, but it’s best, particularly in the high season, to reserve your car far ahead of time because the cars can be sold out during the holidays.

I’d be hesitant to rent a car in Jamaica unless really necessary. Jamaican traffic can be difficult, roads are of variable quality outside the cities, and local drivers can be aggressive.

Book a car only if you’re confident in your driving abilities (note it’s on the British left side of the road in Jamaica), or if you need to travel far outside the usual tourist zone. Some more remote villa rentals may recommend 4-wheel drive vehicles to handle hilly dirt roads and occasional gaping potholes en route.

Immigration at MBJ

MBJ has implemented a new immigration process using kiosks and electronic gates to better handle the busy tourist season. So it’s important that you complete the C5 Jamaica immigration form and customs declaration online before you get to the kiosks—ideally do so before your trip begins, or on your inbound flight (my recent flight had a scannable QR code taped to the entryway).

If you forget to complete the form, or have phone access trouble (as happened to me), you can still request paper immigration forms. Complete the forms by hand and take them to the passport control officers at the manual gates.

Doing the process manually can take extra time, so I’d recommend completing the form prior to taking off on your trip. Even with the new system, delays can happen with bottlenecks of passengers arriving simultaneously on multiple flights so allow some buffer time if you have a prearranged ride to meet you at the airport.

Baggage and customs at MBJ

Baggage carousels are readily accessible in one main arrivals hall, and I’ve found customs to be a fairly straightforward process of dropping my bag on a conveyor belt through a scanner. Once you clear customs, Red Cap baggage handlers (literally wearing red caps) are available with carts to take your bags to your departure ride. Red Caps porters are posted at the departures terminal as well.

Departures and security

MBJ advises passengers to arrive at the terminal three hours prior to flight time. In my experience two hours in advance has been plenty of time to get through security and reach the gates at this relatively small airport.

During the holiday season, or with crowds from multiple cruise ships arrivals, it could potentially take three hours to get through the airport. If you’re worried about security time, I suggest booking the VIP service through the Mobay Club lounge, thereby getting access to the fast track security lane.

Departure terminal layout

The airport terminal is divided into two sections, East and West, so be mindful of where your gate is if you’re enjoying a few rum punches in the lounge. Even with these two sections, the airport isn’t huge, so you just need to account for an extra ten minutes or so to walk to your gate if it is the opposite side of the airport.

Terminal food and shopping

MBJ has a good-sized duty-free shopping area, with decent deals on Jamaican rum. Plenty of touristy souvenir shops line the terminal hallways offering opportunity to get some quick trinkets. If you’re looking for a more legitimate souvenir, I’d recommend shopping at the Island Chic local handicraft store, the Coffee & Spice shop or either of the two Reggae Marts. Tuff Gong Traders is your spot for reggae or Bob Marley themed merchandise.

The departure terminal has a number of dining and drinking spots. The best place for a sit-down meal is the Bob Marley One Love Restaurant. I enjoyed their spicy jerk burger (with vegan options available).

Lounges at MBJ

The only lounge options at Montego Bay Airport are the privately-run Mobay Clubs, with two in the departure area and one in the arrivals terminal. Access is paid for on a per-use basis via reserved sign-ups, with limited day-of access passes available, space permitting. The Mobay Club provides access for some (but not many) airlines’ premier passengers, select credit cards and Priority Pass members. Check the Mobay Club website for the latest pricing and partner information.

Given that the MBJ terminal has decent food, drink and seating options, it’s not critical to pay for Mobay Club access, but I found it a very nice, relaxing way to finish my trip, and worth the money for a quiet area with a full meal and drinks.

The departures terminal can get a little crowded and hectic at times, and the departure lounges offer a peaceful respite. The lounges have good buffet food with Jamaican specialties like jerk chicken and a variety of “patty” pastry sandwiches. Waiter service brings drinks (including tasty rum punch cocktails) to tables. The lounges are divided into adults-only and family sections to cater to those customers.

A bonus of booking the Mobay Club lounge is that departing passengers will have access to a VIP lane through security that I’ve found to cut a few important minutes from the departure process, or even save more time during peak travel periods.

MBJ’s arrivals lounge

Something most travelers don’t know is that MBJ’s Club Mobay also has an arrivals product that includes access to their lounge in the arrivals terminal as well as escorted service through VIP lanes for immigration and customs.

If you’re in a rush to meet a cruise ship or catch a ride, I’d say the VIP arrival lanes and escort are worth the price. And if you have time to kill before your ground transfer, or if you’re waiting to meet other friends arriving at the airport, the Mobay Club arrivals lounge is a relaxing place to hang out, complete with wifi, food and drink. You can even buy combined arrivals and departure lounge access as a package to save a few dollars and streamline both ends of your trip.

Airline connections between MBJ and other cities

While MBJ has plenty of international flight connections, I was surprised to see there aren’t currently any regular domestic flights from MBJ to other Jamaican cities. It’s about a five-hour drive from MBJ to the capital of Kingston, so don’t count on MBJ to serve as your hub for quick cross-Jamaica travel.

Inter-Caribbean flight options from MBJ are limited, often connecting back through Miami to go to other islands although regional flight routes are said to be expanding soon from MBJ.