AirportsOttawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport is a large airport serving Ottawa, in Ontario, Canada. It has scheduled airline flights. Its IATA code, the three letters printed on tickets and baggage tags, is YOW.
Key facts
- IATA code
- YOW
- ICAO code
- CYOW
- City
- Ottawa
- State or region
- Ontario
- Country
- Canada
- Kind
- Large airport
- Coordinates
- 45.3225° N, 75.6692° W
- Elevation
- 114 m (374 ft)
- Runways
- 3
- Longest runway
- 3,048 m (10,000 ft)
Airport codes
On a ticket or a baggage tag, YOW means Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport. Pilots and air traffic controllers use a different, four-letter ICAO code: CYOW. ICAO codes that begin with C belong to Canada. How the two kinds of code differ.
Where it is
The airport lies at 45.3225° N, 75.6692° W. It stands 114 metres (374 feet) above sea level.
Local time
Time now at the airport: loading
Time zone America/Toronto, taken from the nearest town in the data. Flight times on tickets are always in the local time of each airport.
Runways
Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport has 3 runways in the data. The longest is 3,048 metres (10,000 feet). That is long enough for most passenger jets. Among the 245 airports of Canada on this site with runway data, its longest runway ranks number 15.
| Runway | Length | Width | Surface | Lights |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14/32 | 3,048 m 10,000 ft | 61 m | Asphalt | Yes |
| 07/25 | 2,438 m 8,000 ft | 61 m | Asphalt | Yes |
| 04/22 | 1,006 m 3,300 ft | 23 m | Asphalt | not listed |
The numbers in a runway name give its compass direction. How runway numbers work.
Nearest airports with scheduled flights
| Airport | Code | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Ottawa / Rockcliffe AirportOttawa | YRO | 15 km |
| Ottawa / Gatineau AirportGatineau | YND | 24 km |
| Ogdensburg International AirportOgdensburg, United States | OGS | 73 km |
| Massena International Airport Richards FieldMassena, United States | MSS | 78 km |
| Montreal Mirabel International AirportMontréal | YMX | 133 km |
Distance to major airports
| To | Distance | Rough flying time |
|---|---|---|
| Delhi (DEL)India | 11,350 km | 14 h 10 min |
| Mumbai (BOM)India | 12,179 km | 15 h 10 min |
| Dubai (DXB)United Arab Emirates | 10,737 km | 13 h 25 min |
| London Heathrow (LHR)United Kingdom | 5,346 km | 6 h 55 min |
| New York JFK (JFK)United States | 543 km | 1 h 10 min |
| Los Angeles (LAX)United States | 3,821 km | 5 h 05 min |
| Singapore (SIN)Singapore | 14,825 km | 18 h 20 min |
| Tokyo Haneda (HND)Japan | 10,343 km | 13 h 00 min |
| Sydney (SYD)Australia | 15,873 km | 19 h 35 min |
Distances are the shortest path over the globe, worked out from the coordinates. Flying times are rough estimates for a direct jet flight. They do not mean that a direct flight exists. Work out the distance to any airport.
Links
Airport data: OurAirports, as downloaded on 11 November 2026. This page does not show live flights, terminals or airlines. For those, use the airport's or the airline's own site. See About and data sources.