Routes / YOW–YYZ
363 km great circle · Up to 1,500 km
Ottawa YOW to Toronto YYZ delay compensation
Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport to Toronto Pearson International Airport is 363 km by great circle, a domestic Canada route. Distance does not change Canada's amounts: $400 to $1,000 with a large airline, by hours late.
- 1Ottawa YOW
- 2Toronto YYZ
- 3Great circle 363 km
- 4APPR, 3–6 h $400
Which rules cover YOW–YYZ
Ottawa → Toronto
Whatever the airline, this direction is covered by APPR (the flight is within Canada (Canada Transportation Act s. 86.11(1))). If the airline refuses, the complaint goes to the Canadian Transportation Agency for APPR.
Toronto → Ottawa
Whatever the airline, this direction is covered by APPR (the flight is within Canada (Canada Transportation Act s. 86.11(1))). If the airline refuses, the complaint goes to the Canadian Transportation Agency for APPR.
What you could be owed by hours late
Arrival delay at YYZ (or YOW on the return), for a delay caused by the airline, per passenger, where each rule applies:
| Hours late | APPR large | APPR small |
|---|---|---|
| 2 hours | $0 | $0 |
| 3 h 30 min | $400 | $125 |
| 4 h 30 min | $400 | $125 |
| 6 h 30 min | $700 | $250 |
| 9 h 30 min | $1,000 | $500 |
Canada's amounts rise with the delay instead, at 6 and 9 hours.
The distance and the band
EU261 and UK261 measure distance "by the great circle route method" between the departure airport and the final destination. From the published coordinates of Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport (45.322498, -75.669197) and Toronto Pearson International Airport (43.675935, -79.629421) that is 363 km. The nearest band boundary is 1,500 km, 1,137 km beyond this route, so the band is not in doubt. Among the 84 routes on this site in the up to 1,500 km band, it is number 69 by length.
Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport (CYOW, Ottawa, Canada) appears on no other route on this site.
Other routes from Toronto Pearson International Airport (CYYZ) on this site: London (5,707 km), Munich (6,641 km), Vancouver (3,346 km), Montréal (507 km), New York (588 km), Cancún (2,605 km), Boston (716 km), Chicago (700 km), Los Angeles (3,494 km), Newark (559 km), Atlanta (1,191 km), Orlando (1,702 km), Halifax (1,288 km), Calgary (2,689 km), Edmonton (2,689 km), Frankfurt (6,344 km), Paris (6,020 km), Amsterdam (5,990 km), Rome (7,086 km), Dublin (5,261 km), Lisbon (5,740 km).
If YOW–YYZ is only one leg of your booking, measure to the final destination instead: a connection that makes you late at the end is compensated over the whole journey's distance.
Help at the airport while you wait
Canada's rules add standards of treatment — food, drink and, overnight, a hotel — when the delay is within the airline's control, including safety-related delays (ss. 11–12). Keep receipts for anything you buy: it is claimed back separately from any compensation.
Claiming on this route
Claim from the operating airline directly — it costs nothing.
APPR: If the airline refuses or does not answer, file a complaint with the Canadian Transportation Agency.
Claim pages of airlines based in Canada (whether they fly this exact route varies by season):
- Air Canada: Flight delays, cancellations and disruptions (Air Canada)
- WestJet: Flight delay and cancellation claims (WestJet)
- Porter Airlines: Flight Delay Compensation (Porter)
- Air Transat: Claim for flight disruption (Air Transat)
- Flair Airlines: Compensation requests (Flair)
Airport coordinates: OurAirports country file (CA). Rules: Air Passenger Protection Regulations, SOR/2019-150 (Justice Laws). Checked 2026-10-21. General information, not legal advice.