Landing time at Ottawa Airport?

[MilesAway]

Hi everyone,

I have searched repeatedly for this, but the only information I could find was about Pearson or Montreal airport.

Does anyone know how long it usually takes to clear immigration and customs when you land as a PR at Ottawa airport? I know people say the actual process is fairly quick, but the main problem is waiting to actually see the officer, which can take 2 hours at Pearson or Montreal. Ottawa is a much smaller airport, so I imagine the lines are shorter.

Any experience?

Why I'm asking: I am the sponsor. I bought my flight last month, because I found a great price. At the time, we had not heard a thing from CIC, and I didn't want to wait too long, in case the prices shot up, and then we wouldn't be able to afford tickets for either of us. We sent the passport off to CIC yesterday, so now it appears that my wife may actually be able to come to Canada with me, finally. The problem is that the flight I booked has become much more expensive. It also has a 2.5 hour connection at Pearson, which is fine for me, since I don't need to do any major formalities there. There is another option that would get her to Ottawa via London, which would land a few minutes after my flight. The cost difference is 400-500$ (depending on the current exchange rate), meaning that flight is much cheaper than mine.
I have not told my parents, who are meeting me at the airport, that she is coming. So I'm trying to figure out just how long I should stall at the airport. If I need to stall for a few hours, that might be impossible. If I only need to stall for 20-30 minutes, I can probably do that.

 

[MoH1979]

Hi everyone,

I have searched repeatedly for this, but the only information I could find was about Pearson or Montreal airport.

Does anyone know how long it usually takes to clear immigration and customs when you land as a PR at Ottawa airport? I know people say the actual process is fairly quick, but the main problem is waiting to actually see the officer, which can take 2 hours at Pearson or Montreal. Ottawa is a much smaller airport, so I imagine the lines are shorter.

Any experience?

Why I'm asking: I am the sponsor. I bought my flight last month, because I found a great price. At the time, we had not heard a thing from CIC, and I didn't want to wait too long, in case the prices shot up, and then we wouldn't be able to afford tickets for either of us. We sent the passport off to CIC yesterday, so now it appears that my wife may actually be able to come to Canada with me, finally. The problem is that the flight I booked has become much more expensive. It also has a 2.5 hour connection at Pearson, which is fine for me, since I don't need to do any major formalities there. There is another option that would get her to Ottawa via London, which would land a few minutes after my flight. The cost difference is 400-500$ (depending on the current exchange rate), meaning that flight is much cheaper than mine.
I have not told my parents, who are meeting me at the airport, that she is coming. So I'm trying to figure out just how long I should stall at the airport. If I need to stall for a few hours, that might be impossible. If I only need to stall for 20-30 minutes, I can probably do that.

I live in Ottawa and yes the lines are much smaller. If you're coming from Europe then most likely you're coming from London or Frankfurt and usually those 2 flights land at the same time so the lineup is for both planes really and that's it. It takes about 15-20 mins to see an officer at Ottawa Airport from my experience.

Not sure how long the landing process takes though as I've never experienced it but my wife and I will experience it some time in June.

 

[MilesAway]

I'm from Ottawa, but I usually end up connecting somewhere else in Canada first, before flying domestic, so my experience is fairly limited. I've been on a few US-Ottawa flights, but those have mostly been late evening flights, so the lines were non-existant.

I think they've changed the schedule, because for the dates I was looking at, the one from Frankfurt arrives at 12:10 and London at 3:15, so there shouldn't be any overlap between the two.

 

[ck85]

I live in Ottawa and yes the lines are much smaller. If you're coming from Europe then most likely you're coming from London or Frankfurt and usually those 2 flights land at the same time so the lineup is for both planes really and that's it. It takes about 15-20 mins to see an officer at Ottawa Airport from my experience.

Not sure how long the landing process takes though as I've never experienced it but my wife and I will experience it some time in June.

How did your wife's landing experience at Ottawa go ? Could you please share any information that will be useful ? Thanks.

 

[ck85]

Hi everyone,

I have searched repeatedly for this, but the only information I could find was about Pearson or Montreal airport.

Does anyone know how long it usually takes to clear immigration and customs when you land as a PR at Ottawa airport? I know people say the actual process is fairly quick, but the main problem is waiting to actually see the officer, which can take 2 hours at Pearson or Montreal. Ottawa is a much smaller airport, so I imagine the lines are shorter.

Any experience?

Why I'm asking: I am the sponsor. I bought my flight last month, because I found a great price. At the time, we had not heard a thing from CIC, and I didn't want to wait too long, in case the prices shot up, and then we wouldn't be able to afford tickets for either of us. We sent the passport off to CIC yesterday, so now it appears that my wife may actually be able to come to Canada with me, finally. The problem is that the flight I booked has become much more expensive. It also has a 2.5 hour connection at Pearson, which is fine for me, since I don't need to do any major formalities there. There is another option that would get her to Ottawa via London, which would land a few minutes after my flight. The cost difference is 400-500$ (depending on the current exchange rate), meaning that flight is much cheaper than mine.
I have not told my parents, who are meeting me at the airport, that she is coming. So I'm trying to figure out just how long I should stall at the airport. If I need to stall for a few hours, that might be impossible. If I only need to stall for 20-30 minutes, I can probably do that.

Hi. Could you please share your experience ? How is it to land at Ottawa airport ? Thanks.

 

[jordo]

Seeing as the original poster landed over 2 years ago it is doubtful they still scan this forum.