Secret Departure Parking

I learned something new when my parents flew into town last night: There is free curbside parking at the Ottawa Airport in the evenings if you know where to look.


By 10pm, there aren't anymore flights departing from Ottawa, so there's no one upstairs in the departures/check-in area. As a result, there are no cars driving up on the ramp that passes by, so you can leave your car there without any troubles. If you try to do the same thing on the ground level (the arrivals floor), the security staff will sniff you out and wave you through. They are quite tenacious. Until last night, I thought you only had two options:
1) Circle the terminal until your party arrives, or
2) Just pay the fee to park in the parkade.

Neither of these is as convenient as upstairs curbside parking. I was able to stop the car right outside the entrance, next to the elevator that leads down to international arrivals. I left it parked there for an hour while I waited inside without any problems.

This information will prove useful when we have some more visitors next week. We've had a sudden spate of visitors, but we don't have so many people coming that we require use of the truck to ferry them around. This is fortunate, because the insurance still has not been completely resolved. After visiting multiple offices yesterday, I managed to find a broker who has promised to track down insurance. His name was Bill, and he seemed to be a class act.

Perhaps I'll let Bill in on my airport secrets if he comes through for me.