Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport Statistics

Ottawa Airport handles around 5 million passengers annually.

• The airport served 4.87 million passengers in 2025, representing a 5.6% increase from 2024.
• Pre-pandemic traffic peaked at 5.11 million passengers in 2019, then fell to 1.36 million in 2020.
• Traffic declined to 1.17 million in 2021, then surged to 2.99 million in 2022 (a 155.6% jump), 4.10 million in 2023, and 4.61 million in 2024.

Ottawa Airport manages around 55,000 to 60,000 aircraft takeoffs and landings each year.

• Ottawa Airport recorded 58,557 total aircraft movements in 2025, showing a 4.2% increase from 56,196 movements in 2024.
• Before the pandemic, 75,799 aircraft operations were recorded in 2019, which dropped to 23,384 in 2020 and 17,397 in 2021 due to the pandemic.
• Operations began to recover with 39,716 movements in 2022 and 49,971 operations in 2023.

Porter and Air Canada are the leading carriers at Ottawa International Airport.

• Porter has the largest route presence at YOW, with 19 non-stop routes reported for 2024.
• Air Canada is a major YOW carrier and lists Toronto, Montréal, and Vancouver as its three main hubs.
• Air France operates year-round non-stop service between Ottawa and Paris-Charles de Gaulle.
• WestJet remains active at YOW, especially on western Canadian routes.
• Other airlines listed by YOW include Air North, Air Transat, Canadian North, PAL Airlines, and United Airlines.

Ottawa airport experiences peak travel during summer months, with August being the busiest month seeing over 455,000 passengers in 2025.

• August 2025 was the busiest month with 455,912 passengers, followed closely by July 2025 with 439,955 passengers.
• December 2025 also witnessed strong holiday traffic with 425,413 passengers.
• On the other hand, November (358,872) and February (375,048) saw the lowest passenger numbers in 2025, reflecting typical winter travel patterns and the post-holiday slowdown.

• YOW serves domestic, transborder, and international destinations.
• Some routes operate year-round, while others vary seasonally.
• Canadian service includes major domestic markets such as Calgary, Winnipeg, Halifax, Quebec City, and Vancouver.
• U.S. service includes gateways such as Chicago, New York-Newark, Washington-Dulles, and Washington-Reagan.
• Sun routes include destinations in the Caribbean, Mexico, and Florida.
• European service includes Paris-Charles de Gaulle and London Heathrow.

• Toronto-Pearson (YYZ) leads as the busiest domestic route with approximately 454 monthly flights.
• Toronto-Billy Bishop (YTZ) follows with around 317 monthly flights, primarily served by Porter Airlines.
• Montréal (YUL) maintains significant service with approximately 259 monthly flights.
• Halifax (YHZ) and Calgary (YYC) complete the top five destinations with around 210 and 170 monthly flights respectively.

Note: The number of monthly flights varies seasonally.

Ottawa Airport has maintained steady cargo operations, though volumes have not yet fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels.

• Ottawa Airport processed 10,153 tonnes of cargo in 2024, representing a 4.1% decrease from 2023.
• Pre-pandemic cargo volumes reached 12,869 tonnes in 2019, dropping to 7,519 tonnes in 2020 during the pandemic.
• Cargo operations began to recover after a low of 7,332 tonnes in 2021, rising to 7,886 tonnes in 2022 and 10,583 tonnes in 2023, before declining slightly to 10,153 tonnes in 2024.

Ottawa airport generates over CAD$160 million in revenue in recent years.

• The airport maintained consistent revenue generation, earning CAD$162.1 million in both 2024 and 2025.
• Revenue totaled CAD$138.1 million in 2019, but dropped sharply to CAD$48.6 million in 2020 due to the pandemic.
• It then recovered to CAD$56.6 million in 2021, CAD$111.8 million in 2022, and CAD$145.6 million in 2023.

Ottawa Airport is pursuing aggressive environmental goals that exceed national aviation targets.

• Ottawa Airport is pursuing emissions-reduction initiatives aligned with Canada’s 2050 aviation climate goals.
• YOW currently reports Level 3 Airport Carbon Accreditation.
• The airport paused carbon-offset purchases in 2024.
• Porter’s YOW hangars use approximately 35% recycled steel.
• Two 173,000-litre tanks are being installed to capture excess rainwater and stormwater.
• YOW added Level 3 electric ground-support-equipment chargers in 2024.¹