Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport

Compiled by Bill Gao

Ottawa, Ontario (Canada)

IATA: YOW ICAO: CYOW

Longest Active Runway

10,000 ft

3,048 meters

Field Elevation

374 ft

114 m MSL

Runway Inventory

3 active

Lighted / Paved

Coordinates & Class

45.3225°, -75.6692°

LARGE AIRPORT

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Multi-Universe Rankings & Statistical Standing

How ranks work →

RunwayFacts Published Dataset

tied #557 of 650

In curated primary commercial index

Global Commercial Universe

#962 of 7558

Top 13.4% percentile worldwide

For airports with equal runway length, the worldwide order does not indicate a length difference.

National Standing (Canada)

#8 of 8 in CA

#19 of 411 in full national registry

vs Large Airport Median

+0%

Compared to 10,000 ft baseline

💡 YOW in numbers: 10,000 ft longest runway · tied #557 of 650 published · #962 of 7,558 worldwide (top 13.4%) · #8 in Canada.

🔬 Operational & Aerodrome Engineering Comparative Analysis

Longest runway 8,000–10,499 ft

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Elevation & National Context

Lowland Aerodrome (<2,000 ft)

YOW lies at 114 m (374 ft), #303 of 650 published airports by elevation and 46.8 percentile among 7,558 worldwide. It is 149 ft below the Canada median (523 ft, 8 airports); YYC is highest at 3,557 ft, 3,183 ft higher than YOW.

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Regional Density & Alternates (100 NM)

1 Qualifying Aerodrome in Vicinity

Closest of 1 paved-runway (≥5,000 ft) neighbour within 100 NM: Montreal / Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (YUL), 81.7 NM, 11,000 ft. YUL has the radius's longest runway, 1,000 ft more than YOW.

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Runway Inventory & National Standing

Primary Runway: 10,000 ft (3,048 m)

YOW runways: 14/32 10,000 × 200 ft asphalt (asp); 07/25 8,000 × 200 ft asphalt (asp); 04/22 3,300 × 75 ft asphalt (asp). National standing: #8 of 8 in Canada; YYC leads by 4,000 ft (14,000 ft). +0% vs the 10,000 ft baseline.

🛫 Physical Runway Inventory & Surface Engineering

Runway Designator	Length (ft / m)	Width (ft / m)	Surface Material	Lighting	Status
14/32	10,000 ft (3048 m / 3.048 km)	200 ft (61m)	`Asphalt (ASP)`	✅ Lighted	✅ Active
07/25	8,000 ft (2438 m / 2.438 km)	200 ft (61m)	`Asphalt (ASP)`	✅ Lighted	✅ Active
04/22	3,300 ft (1006 m / 1.006 km)	75 ft (23m)	`Asphalt (ASP)`	❌ Unlighted	✅ Active

🧭 Comparative Aerodromes (100 NM Radius, ≥5,000 ft Paved)

Great-circle Haversine spatial proximity matching for commercial facilities with paved runway capacity within 100 NM.

Aerodrome Name	IATA	Distance	Longest Runway	Lighting
Montreal / Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (Montréal)	`YUL`	81.7 NM (151.3 km)	11,000 ft	✅ Lighted

🛡️ Source: OurAirports Open Aviation Database, snapshot 2026-09-01 · Provenance →