Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport (CYOW)

Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport at a glance

Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport is a large airport in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, known to airline systems as YOW. The field elevation of 374 ft (114 m) is the number every arriving pilot dials against QNH — circuit heights and initial approach altitudes at CYOW are all figured from it. The airport handles scheduled commercial service, so expect controlled procedures, published approaches and commercial traffic in the pattern.

Of its 3 runways, the longest — 14/32 — offers 10,000 ft (3048 m) of asp surface, with runway lighting for night operations. Runway numbers give magnetic orientation: runway 14 points roughly 140° magnetic.

For the weather side of planning, the live METAR and TAF page for CYOW shows the current observation decoded line by line — wind on an instrument dial, visibility, cloud layers and the resulting flight rules — refreshed continuously from official sources.

Flight-planning notes for Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport

Density altitude is the quiet performance-killer at any field: on a hot day the 374 ft field elevation of Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport can translate into a substantially higher density altitude, stretching take-off rolls and flattening climb rates — run the numbers rather than trusting the feel of a standard day. Expect published instrument procedures, controlled airspace and clearance requirements; slots and handling may apply to general aviation traffic.

This entry is one of 250 airports and airfields we list for Canada — the country index on the airports hub links the rest. Coordinates above are given in both DMS and decimal degrees so they can go straight into a GPS, a flight planner or a chart plot without conversion.

Where this data comes from

The reference layer behind this page builds on the OurAirports dataset — a public-domain, community-maintained register of the world's airports that many flight planners and apps rely on — with equity records preserved from documented historical listings where the dataset is silent. Figures are carried as published: elevations as surveyed, coordinates as filed, runway dimensions as recorded. Nothing is estimated to fill a gap, and the whole layer regenerates from source on every site build, so corrections upstream arrive here automatically.