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Picked up at Ottawa airport, Pillars 12 and 13

Ottawa's airport is compact and its pickup rules are precise: everything happens on the ground floor, at two numbered pillars on the far curb. Remember the pillar numbers and you're most of the way there.

Level 1, the far curb

All licensed ground transportation works from Level 1, the Arrivals level. Booked services load at Pillars 12 and 13, which stand on the outer curb, the one farthest from the doors. Level 3, Departures, is off limits for picking people up, so don't let well-meaning relatives send you upstairs.

Curbs are for active loading only. A driver who arrives early waits in the Cell Phone Lot and comes round when you're out, so a quick message after baggage claim works better than one the moment the wheels touch down.

Executive Sprinter van, side view
Executive Sprinter van, side view

Only licensed vehicles

Paid transport at YOW needs a licence from the airport, and it allows pre-arranged trips and nothing else. Holders list each vehicle, from mini-bus to coach, with its seating, insurance and municipal licences. Operators who come only now and then, or from out of town, must call in at the intercom by the main commercial gate before collecting anyone; those who don't are refused the pickup and escorted off the premises.

For you it comes down to one thing: book ahead with a licensed operator, and don't count on a spare van appearing on the day.

The terminals

  • Single passenger terminal

Good to know at Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport

  • YOW has U.S. Customs preclearance for flights to the United States, and an O-Train line links the airport station to South Keys station.
  • Curbs are for active loading and unloading only; waiting drivers are sent to the Cell Phone Lot.
  • Unlicensed operators who arrive without reporting to the commercial gate are refused the pick-up and escorted off the premises.
  • Licence holders supply a vehicle list (type, including mini-bus and coach, and seating capacity), municipal business and vehicle licences, a certificate of insurance and, where applicable, a CVOR or Quebec equivalent.
  • Commercial, for-profit transportation at YOW requires an airport transportation licence, which permits pre-arranged service only; licensees pay a per-pick-up fee that varies by vehicle type, from sedans up to charter buses.

Downtown in about twenty minutes

By road, Parliament Hill is about 14 km away: roughly 20 minutes with light traffic, and peak hours add more. The ByWard Market, Centretown and the Elgin Street hotels are close by, and Gatineau, with the Canadian Museum of History, is just across the river.

Here for Canada Day on 1 July? Traffic is shut out of Wellington Street and a large part of downtown. Residents, vehicles carrying an official access pass and guests holding a hotel booking are the ones let through. Keep your hotel confirmation handy.

Your questions

Could we take the O-Train instead?

The airport station links to South Keys by O-Train, where you'd change for the rest of the network. With children and suitcases, one vehicle to the hotel is the simpler option.

We fly on to the United States. Does that change anything?

YOW has U.S. Customs preclearance, so you clear U.S. entry in Ottawa before boarding. Allow for that when you pick a drop-off time on the way home.

Which day trips work well from Ottawa?

Gatineau Park is about 15 km away, Parc Omega near Montebello about 80 km, and Mont-Tremblant about 165 km, roughly two hours. A minibus is a comfortable size for any of them.

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