Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport | |||||||||||||||||||
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.jpeg) Aerial view of the airport in 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||||||||||
| Owner | Transport Canada[1] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Operator | Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport Authority | ||||||||||||||||||
| Serves | Ottawa–Gatineau | ||||||||||||||||||
| Hub for | Porter Airlines | ||||||||||||||||||
| Focus city for | [2] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Time zone | EST (UTC−05:00) | ||||||||||||||||||
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC−04:00) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 377 ft / 115 m | ||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 45°19′21″N075°40′02″W / 45.32250°N 75.66722°W /45.32250; -75.66722 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Public transit access |  Airport station | ||||||||||||||||||
| Website | www | ||||||||||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||||||||||
  CYOW Location in Ottawa Show map of Ottawa CYOW CYOW (Ontario) Show map of Ontario CYOW CYOW (Canada) Show map of Canada | |||||||||||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Statistics (2024) | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Sources:Canada Flight Supplement[3] Environment Canada[4] Movements fromStatistics Canada[5] Passenger statistics from Ottawa Airport[6] | |||||||||||||||||||
Ottawa/Macdonald–Cartier International Airport (IATA:YOW,ICAO:CYOW) or simplyOttawa International Airport is the maininternational airport servingOttawa,Ontario, Canada, and itsmetropolitan area as well asGatineau,Quebec known as theNational Capital Region.[7] It is named after the Canadian statesmen and two of the "founding fathers of Canada", SirJohn A. Macdonald and SirGeorge-Étienne Cartier. Located 8nautical miles (15 km; 9.2 mi) south ofdowntown Ottawa in the south end of the city, it isCanada's sixth-busiest airport, Ontario's second-busiest airport by airline passenger traffic, with 4,606,824 passengers in 2024.[6] The airport is a hub forPorter Airlines, a focus city forAir Canada and a home base forCanadian North (formerlyFirst Air).
It is classified as anairport of entry byNav Canada, and is staffed by theCanada Border Services Agency. It is one of eight Canadian airports that haveUnited States border preclearance facilities. The airport was formerly a military base known asCFB Ottawa South/CFB Uplands, and is still home to theRoyal Canadian Air Force's (RCAF)412 Transport Squadron, which provides air transport for Canadian and foreign government officials.
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On July 2, 1927, twelveP-1 aeroplanes under the command of MajorThomas G. Lanphier, Air Corps, proceeded fromSelfridge Field toOttawa, acting as Special Escort for ColonelCharles Lindbergh, who was to attend at the opening of the Dominion Jubilee. First LieutenantJ. Thad Johnson, Air Corps, commanding 27th Pursuit Squadron, was killed in an unsuccessful parachute jump after a collision with another plane of formation in a demonstration on arrival over Ottawa. There is now a street leading to the airport industrial section named after the aviator.[8]
The airport was opened at Uplands on a high plateau (then) south of Ottawa by the Ottawa Flying Club, which still operates from the field. DuringWorld War II, when it was known asUplands, the airport hostedNo. 2 Service Flying Training School for theBritish Commonwealth Air Training Plan, providing advancedpilot training inHarvard andYale aircraft.
In 1950, to allow for a southward expansion of the airport, the nearby farming community of Bowesville, settled in 1821, was expropriated. The last residents left and the village school was torn down in 1951. The current main airport terminal now stands on the site of the crossroads at the centre of the village. The road to the south of the airport still bears the name "Bowesville Road".[9]
During the 1950s, while the airport was still namedUplands and a joint-use civilian/military field, it was the busiest airport in Canada bytakeoffs andlandings, reaching a peak of 307,079 aircraft movements in 1959,[10] nearly double its current traffic. At the time, the airport had scheduled airline flights byTrans-Canada Air Lines (Toronto,Montreal, andVal-d'Or),Trans Air (Churchill), andEastern Air Lines (New York viaSyracuse andWashington via Montreal).[10] With the arrival of civilianjet travel, theCanadian government built a new field south of the original one, with two much longerrunways and a newterminal building designed to handle up to 900,000 passengers/year.
The terminal building had been scheduled to open in December 1959, but during the opening ceremonies, aUnited States Air ForceF-104 Starfighter wentsupersonic during a low pass over the airport, and the resultantsonic boom shattered most of the glass in the airport (including the entire north wall) and damaged ceiling tiles, door and window frames, and even structural beams.[11] The total cost of the damage exceeded $500,000, and the opening was delayed until April 1960.George Hees, the Canadian Transport Minister, stated that "the sonic explosion subjected the terminal building to five times the hurricane force which it had been designed to withstand". The incident has been described as "the most expensive five seconds in Canadian civil aviation history".[12][13] The original terminal building and Trans-Canada Airways/DOThangar continued in private use on the airport's north field as a location for the Ottawa Flying Club until the fall of 2011 when it was demolished.
The airport was renamed "Ottawa International Airport" in 1964. It became "Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport" in 1993.
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In the 2000s, the original terminal was entirely replaced and expanded by more modern facilities.[14]
In 2017, theCanada Border Services Agency started to usefacial recognition technology to process incoming international travellers. All international passengers are directed to Primary Inspection Kiosks before seeing a Border Services Officer and are no longer required to fill out a declaration card.[15]
On November 1, 2022,Porter Airlines and the Ottawa International Airport Authority announced they would be investing over $65 million at the airport in the future. Porter also announced they would be building two aircraft hangars at a size of over 150,000sq. ft each, to maintain theEmbraer E195-E2 andBombardier Dash 8 aircraft. These will be built in two phases, with phase one being completed by the end of 2023 and phase two in the first quarter of 2024, making the airport the primary E195-E2 maintenance base and creating 200 local jobs.[16][17]
The airport consists of two distinct airfields connected by ataxiway. The smaller north field, originally referred to as Uplands, was founded by the Ottawa Flying Club in the late 1920s and then used byTrans-Canada Air Lines, the predecessor ofAir Canada. This was the area primarily used by No. 2 Service Flying Training School. Several hangars were constructed during World War II, but were all demolished by the early 2000s.
The north field is still popular forgeneral aviation, although only one of its runways, 04/22, is still in use. There are a number of aircraft component repair facilities located within the same grouping of buildings as the Ottawa Flying Club.
The south field consists of the two longer runways, 07/25 and 14/32, designed for jet airliners. The public passenger terminal is tucked into the north side of the intersection of the two runways, while the two general aviation FBOs for the south field are nearer to the threshold of runway 25. Customs services for private aircraft are available at the twofixed-base operators (FBO),Shell Aerocentre and Skyservice Business Aviation, on the south field. There are also a number of aviation component repair facilities on the airport grounds, mostly around the Skyservice complex. The Government of Canada operates a number of hangars, including the Canada Reception Centre, which is used to greet visiting dignitaries. TheNational Research Council operates two facilities on the north side of the grounds, including twowind tunnels. One of these has supersonic capabilities, and the other has a 9-meter diameter, making it the largest in Canada.Transport Canada operates two facilities on airport grounds, one of which houses training equipment, includingflight simulators, and the other is a hangar for maintenance and storage of government-owned aircraft.
YOW covers an expanse of 1,686hectares (4,166acres) of total airport property.[18]
At the turn of the millennium, the Ottawa Airport Authority announced plans to build a second, adjacent terminal to meet the demands of increased traffic. The terminal, designed by architect Richard Brisbin, was completed ahead of schedule and opened in October 2003.[19][20] This terminal building now handles all airline passenger traffic. A section of the 1960 terminal, which was connected to the new terminal by an enclosed bridge, was still used at peak times of the day when extragate space was needed, and it also handled most domestic regional flights. Funding for the terminal construction was collected from the parking meters outside the terminal beginning in January 1997, when rates were hiked to cover the costs of a new terminal building.
The old terminal and tower, built in 1960, was a modernist International style designed by architectsJames Strutt, William Gilleland and byTransport Canada architect W.A. Ramsay.[21] They had been heavily renovated and modernized in 1985–87, which included the removal of a seating area containing personal television screens which would provide 15 minutes of VHF TV channels for 25 cents, as well as an open ceiling design. They were demolished in 2008 to make way for Phase II of the new terminal.
The airport's board of directors approved a further expansion of the airport's passenger terminal on April 4, 2006. The extension of the new terminal was built in phases by Brisbin Brook Benyon and Architectura.[21] Phase II, the next phase of the expansion program opened March 13, 2008. This addition contains over 7,000 m2 (75,000 sq ft) of space and adds an additional twelve gates and sevenjetways.
The terminal's design focuses on creating a calm and easy travel experience for passengers but also honours aspects of the region through the display of various art by commissioned Canadian artists. A soothing water feature representing the meeting of the region's three rivers runs throughout the terminal. Copper and limestone finishes are visible throughout, representative of the capital's Parliament Buildings. Other Canadian features include aninukshuk commissioned and sponsored by First Air, and a rare traditional birch bark canoe built by the master craftsman and Algonquin leader who created an identical one for the late Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau.[22] The airport features a large-scale carved glass sculpture by Canadian glass artist, Warren Carther.[citation needed]
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Macdonald–Cartier Airport is part of Canada's busiestair corridor between Ottawa, Montreal, and Toronto, which is commonly referred to as the Eastern Triangle.[23] The airport is also a gateway for flights to the eastern Arctic viaIqaluit.
Ottawa's airport serves many major North American airlines and several destinations in the United States,Mexico and theCaribbean.
Once suspended from March 2020 until October 2021 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, it began reopening cross-border destinations within the continent, beginning with service toFort Lauderdale andWashington–Dulles, with other destinations in the United States and Caribbean countries soon after.
Porter Airlines has launched multiple routes to the United States since 2023 as it has developed the airport into a major hub.[24]
The airport currently offers direct flights to two European destinationsParis–Charles de Gaulle andLondon–Heathrow. It previously had a connection toFrankfurt.
In September 2019, Canadian flag carrierAir Canada announced that it would shut down its seasonal daily route between Ottawa andFrankfurt in Germany, a keyStar Alliance hub. However,Lufthansa announced a plan to begin flights from Frankfurt to Ottawa airport five times a week from May 2020.[25] This plan did not materialize though, when the airport lost all nonstop transatlantic routes to Europe due to the pandemic in March 2020.
On June 27, 2023,Air France began a new, year-round route connecting Ottawa with its main hub, atParis–Charles de Gaulle, with service offered five times weekly.[26] First byAirbus A330-200, then withBoeing 787-9 Dreamliner,[27] then with aAirbus A350-900XWB, flights have been operated with a 328-seatBoeing 777-200 aircraft since October 30, 2024.[28] Since June 19, 2024, the service is offered daily during the summer months.[29]
On October 8, 2025,Air Transat announced a new summer seasonal route toLondon Gatwick, operating three weekly flights[30]. This is the second non-stop service to London, alongside Air Canada's route to London Heathrow which operates year round.
| Map of North American passenger destinations |
|---|
 Ottawa Destinations from Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport Red = Year-round destination Green = Seasonal destination Blue= Future destination |
| Map of European passenger destinations |
|---|
Destinations from Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport Red = Year-round destination Green = Seasonal destination Blue= Future destination |
Non-stop and same-plane freighter and/or combi flights
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Canadian North | Iqaluit |
| Cargojet Airways | Hamilton (ON),Iqaluit |
| FedEx Express | Buffalo,Indianapolis,Memphis,Montréal–Mirabel,New York–JFK |
| Year | Passengers | Change from previous year |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 2,857,838 | |
| 1997 | 3,046,368 |  6.60% |
| 1998 | 3,110,548 | 2.11% |
| 1999 | 3,211,607 | 3.25% |
| 2000 | 3,434,345 | 6.94% |
| 2001 | 3,391,295 |  1.25% |
| 2002 | 3,216,886 | 5.14% |
| 2003 | 3,262,345 | 1.41% |
| 2004 | 3,609,885 | 10.65% |
| 2005 | 3,735,433 | 3.48% |
| 2006 | 3,807,756 | 1.94% |
| 2007 | 4,088,528 | 7.37% |
| 2008 | 4,339,225 | 6.13% |
| 2009 | 4,232,830 | 2.45% |
| 2010 | 4,473,894 | 5.70% |
| 2011 | 4,624,626 | 3.37% |
| 2012 | 4,685,956 | 1.33% |
| 2013 | 4,578,591 | 2.29% |
| 2014 | 4,616,448 | 0.83% |
| 2015 | 4,656,360 | 0.86% |
| 2016 | 4,743,091 | 1.86% |
| 2017 | 4,839,677 | 2.04% |
| 2018 | 5,110,801 | 5.60% |
| 2019 | 5,106,487 | 0.08% |
| 2020 | 1,363,512 | 73.30% |
| 2021 | 1,170,789 | 14.13% |
| 2022 | 2,992,334 | 155.58% |
| 2023 | 4,095,914 | 36.88% |
| 2024 | 4,606,824 | 12.47% |
| Rank | Destination | Flights per week | Carriers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toronto–Pearson, Ontario | 105 | Air Canada, WestJet, Porter |
| 2 | Toronto–Billy Bishop, Ontario | 71 | Porter, Air Canada |
| 3 | Montréal, Quebec | 49 | Air Canada |
| 4 | Calgary, Alberta | 46 | Air Canada, Porter, WestJet |
| 5 | Halifax, Nova Scotia | 43 | Air Canada, Porter |
| 5 | Vancouver, British Columbia | 43 | Air Canada, Porter, WestJet |
| 7 | Edmonton, Alberta | 26 | Porter, WestJet |
| 8 | Winnipeg, Manitoba | 18 | Air Canada, Porter, WestJet |
| 9 | Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island | 14 | Porter |
| 9 | Moncton, New Brunswick | 14 | Porter |
| Rank | Airport | Passengers | Carriers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paris–Charles de Gaulle, France | 160,657 | Air France |
| 2 | Newark, New Jersey | 144,243 | Porter, United |
| 3 | Chicago, Illinois | 108,307 | United |
| 4 | Orlando, Florida | 103,262 | Air Canada, Porter |
| 5 | Fort Lauderdale, Florida | 90,969 | Air Canada, Porter |
| 6 | Washington–Dulles, Virginia | 83,772 | United |
| 7 | Cancún, Mexico | 41,542 | Air Canada, Air Transat |
| 8 | Washington–National, D.C. | 36,117 | Air Canada |
| 9 | Fort Myers, Florida | 14,910 | Porter, WestJet |
| 10 | Tampa, Florida | 11,046 | Air Canada, Porter |
OC Transpo operated route 97 with frequent express bus service to the airport bus stop located on the arrivals level, along a dedicatedBRTtransitway with connections toO-Train lines1 and2, and other transit stations.[60][61] Two OC Transpo ticket machines are available, one at the southern end of the Arrivals level and one within the O-Train station.[62]
In 2019, construction ofLine 4 of the O-Train network started with the line terminating atAirport station (Ottawa), inside the airport terminal on the north side on the departures floor with the Airport Authority volunteering funds for the project.[63] After several delays,[64] the line opened on January 6, 2025[65] with only weekday service and eventually reached daily service on March 16, 2025. After midnight when line 4 is not in service, route N98 replaces.[66]
Taxis, airport limos, and shuttle buses are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There are several rental car agencies located at the airport,[67] as well as ride-sharing services such asUber[68] andLyft.
In the more temperate seasons, it is possible to cycledowntown from the airport via theCapital Pathway and a number of quiet residential streets.[69][70]
The 2010 Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Award for Best Airport in the World for the 2–5 million passengers category went to Ottawa Airport.[71]
In February 2010, Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport was recognized by customers for its excellent customer service in the results ofAirports Council International's (ACI) Airport Service Quality (ASQ) program. For the fifth consecutive year, Ottawa placed second overall for worldwide airports that serve between 0 and 5 million passengers. In 2008, 118 airports from around the world participated in ASQ.[72]
Along with Air Canada, the airport was the joint winner of the 2010 Ottawa Tourism Award for Tourism Partnership of the Year in recognition of the co-operative work done in promoting Air Canada's non-stop flight between Frankfurt and Ottawa.[73]
Also in 2010, the airport was presented with three Airport Revenue News Best Airport Concessions Awards. In the Small Airport division, Ottawa was named the winner in the following categories: Airport with the Best Concessions Program Design, Airport with the Best Concessions Management Team, and Airport with the Best Overall Concessions Program.
In 2011 it wonBest Airport in North America of the Airport Service Quality Awards byAirports Council International,[74] as well as 2ndBest Airport by Size in the 2 to 5 million passenger category.[75]
A ticket machine is also available at the Ottawa International Airport (YOW). Look for the ticket machine at the south end of the Arrivals terminal.
Media related toOttawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport at Wikimedia Commons
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