Transit BarometerNorth American travel & border data

CHECKPOINT STRUCTURE VERIFIED JULY 27, 2026 · ALL 7 AIRPORTS

Ottawa (YOW) security waits — the measured source.

MEASURED LIVE FEED — CATSA OFFICIAL

Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport publishes 2 CATSA-measured checkpoint readings, refreshed about every 2 minutes from boarding-pass scans. Ottawa publishes two readings. Flying out around a Queensway crunch? Check the live 417 board before you leave.

OPEN YOW'S OFFICIAL LIVE WAITS ↗

Canada/InternationalTransborder

🍁 Also for this airport: Ottawa live traffic (417/416)

How early should you arrive at YOW?

The standard: 2 hours before domestic, 3 hours before international or US-bound flights. Watch the transborder line specifically — US preclearance adds American customs to your journey before you even board.

Why Canadian airport security data beats America's. CATSA — the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority — measures its wait times: boarding passes are scanned when you join the queue and again at screening, refreshed about every 2 minutes. The US TSA publishes no live feed at all. We verified every Canadian airport's published checkpoints by hand (July 27, 2026) and link you straight to the official source — and our own pattern archive has been recording readings every 5 minutes since July 26, 2026.
📈 Pattern archive for YOW: recording since July 26, 2026, every 5 minutes. Typical-wait-by-hour charts appear here as the record matures.

📊 Cite this page — free with attribution

Source: Transit Barometer — Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport security checkpoint structure (2 CATSA-measured readings), verified July 27, 2026. https://transitbarometer.com/security-waits/yow/
ALL AIRPORTS

More airports: YYZ · YVR · YYC · YUL · YTZ · YHM · US TSA sources · Busiest in Canada · Ground stops