Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport
| Continent: North America | Country: Canada | Region: Ontario |
| Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport | |
| Location | Ottawa, Ontario |
| IATA code | YOW |
| ICAO code | CYOW |
| Airport type | Commercial |
| Website | http://www.ottawa-airport.ca |
| Overview map | Google Maps |
| Communications | |
| Tower | 118.8 120.1 236.6 341.3 |
| Ground | 121.9 275.8 |
| Clearance | 119.4 283.5 |
| Approach | 135.15 247.0 |
| Departure | 128.175 252.5 |
| ATIS | English 121.15 265.5, French 132.95 382.05 |
| Departure | 127.7(Terminal) |
Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport (MCIA), L'aéroport International Macdonald-Cartier in French, in Ottawa, Ontario Canada is located 10km south of the downtown Ottawa. MCIA is Canada's sixth busiest airport by passengers and fifth busiest on aircraft movements.
Official Spotting Locations
Alert Road
There is only one official location along Alert Rd. There is a small parking lot for about 8 vehicles just past the service entrance to the golf club and secondary radome. This spot offers good daytime views of runway 07/25 operations, direct line of sight to the MTO hanger, Shell and Esso FBO's, Fedex and First Air bases. 100 to 400mm lenses work well from this location.
Other Spotting Locations
Runway 07/25 locations
Alert Rd near gate ER-2 offers a good view of aircraft taxiing to position on Rwy 25 for takeoff. Airplanes pass close to the fence requiring a wide angle lens for larger aircraft to 50mm for smaller planes. This location is good for late afternoon pictures as the sun sets to the west, northwest depending on the time of the year.
Alert Rd opposite side of ER-2 on the south side offers great shots of aircraft taxiing to position on Rwy 25 and arrivals landing on Rwy 25. A lens of 50mm to 300mm works well at this location.
Runway 14/32 spotting locations
Depending on the time of the year, Leitrim Rd offers great views of aircraft landing on Rwy 32 or departing off Rwy 14. Aircraft pass overhead at just over 150 feet above the ground. When there is no snow on the ground, there is a small sandy parking lot on the south side right under the approach lighting. There is also a sandy path on the north side of the road that follows the fence. Try not to park along the shoulder of the road as cars and trucks speed by at over 70km/h and the police might ask you to move as a safety precaution. Good lenses here are 70-200mm, 75-300mm, 100-400mm.
Riverside Drive, just south of Hunt Club Rd offers a great view of Rwy 14 approaches and Rwy 32 departures. There is a small paved area that is the entrance to a private dirt road. Parking there is no problem and you will not be harassed by officials. Lenses used here can range from 50mm to 400mm depending on where the aircraft is.
Canada Reception Centre
Ottawa receives many foreign dignitaries, state officials and military personnel. The Canada Reception Centre, also known as Hanger 11, is where foreign visiting aircraft first arrive to meet Canadian officials. This hanger and aprons are used for parking various aircraft when stored, special military charters, cargo charters, etc. When there are no special visitors, there is no problem with security, but the road to the CRC is usually closed when foreign heads of states visit.
Food Court
There are windows overlooking the apron adjacent to the food court on ther upper level of the terminal building. Departing passengers will have the same view one level down in the departure lounge.
Locations to Avoid
When foreign heads of states are visiting, avoid Convair Private, Leckie Private and Kiowa Private and areas around Hanger 11. Canadair Private and Breadner Blvd may be closed by the police motorcade unit making your movements difficult.
Regular Traffic
Air Canada - E170, E190, A319, A320, A321, B763
Bearskin - SW4
Canadian North - B732, B733
CargoJet - B722F (occasionally replaced by B752 or B762 Freighters)
Delta Connection (Chautauqua or Pinnacle) - CRJ2, E135
Fedex - A306F (Mon to Sat)
First Air - B732, B762F
Jazz - DH8C, DH8D, CRJ2, CRJ7
Porter - DH8D
Sky Regional - E170
United Express (ExpressJet) - E135, E145
US Airways (Air Wisconsin) - CRJ2
Westjet - B736, B737, B738
Seasonal Traffic
Air Transat - A310, A332
Canjet - B738
Miami Air Charters (Hockey teams) - B734, B738
Sunwing - B738
SwiftAir Hockey team charters - B734, B762
Government, Charters and other Occasional Traffic
Canadian Forces - CL60, A310, C17, C130, C30J, BE99
RMCP - PC12, P180
National Research Council - lots of various aircrafts
NavCan - CRJ2, DH8C
Polet - AN-124
Volga-Dnepr - AN-124