Getting Around Ottawa Airport: One Terminal, Two Levels
Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier is one of the easier Canadian airports to navigate: a single terminal over two levels, with a rail station attached. What varies from flight to flight is which section of the building you use and how much process stands between the door and your seat.
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.
If that is your flight, the case for Alt Hotel Ottawa Airport strengthens: an indoor walkway to the terminal turns a pre-dawn start into a short walk rather than a shuttle wait in the cold.
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 24-hour shuttle, 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?
No. Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier operates from a single passenger terminal, so there is no inter-terminal transfer to plan and no risk of arriving at the wrong building. Every airline and every hotel shuttle serves the same doors.
Is there US preclearance at Ottawa Airport?
Yes. 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: August 5, 2026