Getting Around Ottawa Airport: One Terminal, Two Levels

Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier has a single terminal over two levels, with an O-Train station attached. The section of the building you use, and the checks you pass through, depend on whether your flight is domestic, transborder or international.

One terminal, three flows

All flights use the same terminal. Within it, passengers split three ways: domestic flights within Canada, transborder flights to the United States, and international flights everywhere else.

Because it is one building, a connection at YOW never involves changing terminals. What it can involve is changing flow, which means passing security or border control again; the connection times airlines publish account for this.

US preclearance changes your timings

Flying to the United States from Ottawa, you clear US Customs and Border Protection before departure and land in the US as a domestic arrival. The sequence is check-in, security, then preclearance, each queuing separately. On busy mornings the transborder area is the slowest part of the airport, which is why airlines ask transborder passengers to arrive earlier than domestic ones.

For an early transborder flight, ALT Hotel Ottawa Airport is connected to the terminal by an indoor walkway, so a pre-dawn start is a short indoor walk rather than a shuttle wait outdoors.

The rail station is at Departures level

The O-Train Airport Link station is on the Departures level. If you are arriving and heading for the train, go up a level. See Ottawa Airport to downtown for fares and journey time.

Where the hotels fit

Only ALT Hotel Ottawa Airport connects to the terminal directly. The rest are a short ride: Hilton Garden Inn Ottawa Airport one kilometre away with a free shuttle from 7:00 am to 11:00 pm, Fairfield Inn & Suites at 2.5 kilometres, and Homewood Suites and Days Inn around five minutes by road.

Related guides

Early departure: sleeping in Ottawa Airport. Long wait: day rooms and layovers. What the terminal offers in the way of comfort: showers and lounges.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Ottawa Airport have more than one terminal?

Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier operates from a single passenger terminal, so there is no inter-terminal transfer to plan. Every airline and every hotel shuttle uses the same building.

Is there US preclearance at Ottawa Airport?

Ottawa Airport has US preclearance: passengers flying to the United States clear US Customs and Border Protection at YOW before boarding, so they arrive as domestic passengers. Allow extra time: you pass airport security and then preclearance in sequence, and the transborder area is the slowest part of the building on a busy morning.

Where is the O-Train station at Ottawa Airport?

YOW Airport station is at the terminal's Departures level, on the O-Train Airport Link that opened in January 2025. Arriving passengers go up a level to reach it.

Information last verified: September 30, 2026