Chicago O'Hare International Airport (IATA: ORD, ICAO: KORD, FAA LID: ORD), also known as O'Hare Airport, Chicago O'Hare, or simply O'Hare (), is an international airport located on the far Northwest Side of Chicago, Illinois, 17 miles (27 km) northwest of the Chicago Loop. It is the primary airport serving the Chicago metropolitan area, with Midway International Airport, located approximately 10 miles (16 km) closer to the Loop, serving as a secondary airport. It is operated by the City of Chicago Department of Aviation.
O'Hare is the second-busiest airport in the world by the number of takeoffs and landings, and has held that position behind Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport for more than a decade (except for 2014, when O'Hare topped the list). Until 1998, O'Hare was also the world's busiest airport by the number of passengers; it was surpassed mainly due to traffic limits the federal government imposed on the airport to reduce flight delays. As of 2017, O'Hare is the sixth-busiest airport in the world by passenger traffic, the third-busiest in the United States, and the busiest in the Midwest. O'Hare covers 7,627 acres (3,087 ha) of land.
As of January 2017, O'Hare has direct service to 217 destinations, including 157 domestic destinations in the United States and 60 international destinations in North America, South America, Asia, and Europe. In addition, non-stop service to Africa and New Zealand will begin in 2018. In 2017 O'Hare was ranked as the largest U.S. and 4th largest international Mega Hub (an airport with the highest ratio of possible scheduled international connections to the number of destinations served by the airport), according to OAG.
O'Hare serves a major hub for United and American, as well as a focus city for Frontier and Spirit. It is United Airlines' largest hub in both passengers carried annually (16.6 million in 2016) and daily flights (585 on average). It is also American's third-largest hub, behind Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Charlotte Douglas International Airport, and third-largest by number of daily flights, operating 527 daily flights to 122 destinations, including 201 mainline flights daily.
O'Hare has been voted as the "Best Airport in North America" for 14 consecutive years by Global Traveler. OAG's rankings for 2017 named O'Hare 7th in on-time performance for Mega Airports.
Video O'Hare International Airport
History
Establishment and defense efforts
Not long after the opening of Midway Airport in 1926, the City of Chicago realized that additional airport capacity would be needed in the future. The city government investigated various potential airport sites during the 1930s, but made little progress prior to America's entry into World War II.
O'Hare's place in aviation began with a manufacturing plant for Douglas C-54s during WWII. The site was then known as Orchard Place, and was located 18 miles northwest of downtown. It had previously been a small farming community. The two million sq ft (180,000 m²) factory, located in the northeast corner of what is now the airport property, needed easy access to the workforce of the nation's then second-largest city, as well as its extensive railroad infrastructure and location on Mannheim Road. Some 655 C-54s were built at the plant. The attached airfield, from which the completed planes were flown out, was known informally as Douglas Airport; initially, it had four 5,500 ft runways. Less known is the fact that it was the location of the Army Air Force's 803rd Special Depot, a unit charged with storing many rare or experimental planes, including captured enemy aircraft. This collection would eventually be transferred to the Smithsonian Institution and form the bulk of the WWII collection at the National Air and Space Museum, as well as providing many of the captured WWII aircraft in American aviation museums today.
Douglas Company's contract ended in 1945 and, though consideration was given to building commercial aircraft at Orchard, the company ultimately chose to concentrate commercial production at its original headquarters in Long Beach, CA. With the departure of Douglas, the airfield took the name of Orchard Field Airport, and was assigned the IATA code ORD.
The United States Air Force used O'Hare extensively during the Korean War, at which time there was still no scheduled commercial service at the airport. (In the days prior to ICBMs and long-range jets, most major American cities were protected by nearby fighter bases.) Because of this, there was some public debate as to whether Chicago should pursue the site for a commercial airport or whether the site should be given or sold back to the Air Force for use as its primary base for the area (and, by extension, build a new commercial airport elsewhere). The Air Force eventually agreed to partially vacate O'Hare and relocate to a new base. As a result, the Continental Air Command (later redesignated Air Force Reserve) units were withdrawn and O'Hare was reassigned to Aerospace Defense Command's Central Air Defense Force. Although not the primary base in the area, O'Hare was an active fighter base; it was home to the 62nd Fighter-Interceptor Squadron flying F-86 Sabres. The 62nd FIS remained at O'Hare until October 1, 1959, becoming part of the ADC 56th Fighter Group (Air Defense), and later being upgraded to the F-86D interceptor version of the Sabre. In addition, the federalized Oregon Air National Guard 142nd Fighter-Interceptor Wing was stationed at O'Hare from March 1, 1951 to February 6, 1952. Other Air Defense Command (ADC) squadrons assigned to the 56th Fighter Group at O'Hare Airport were the 42nd Fighter-Interceptor Squadron (1953-1955) (F-86D) and the 63rd Fighter-Interceptor Squadron (1955-1958) (F-86D/L).
By 1960, the need for active duty fighter bases was diminishing, just as commercial business was picking up at O'Hare. The Air Force inactivated its active-duty ADC units at O'Hare and returned the station back to Continental Air Command, enabling them to base reserve units under the 2840th Air Reserve Training Wing. As a result of a 1993 agreement between the City and the Department of Defense, the reserve based was closed on April 1, 1997, ending its career as the home of the 928th Airlift Wing. At that time, the 357-acre site came under the ownership of the Chicago Department of Aviation.
Commercial development
In 1945, Chicago mayor Martin Kennelly established a formal board to choose the site of a new facility to meet future aviation demands. After considering various proposals, the board decided upon the Orchard Field site, and acquired most of the site from the federal government in March 1946. The military retained its relatively small parcel of property on the site, and the rights to use 25% of the airfield's operating capacity for free.
Ralph Burke, an engineer previously responsible for designing Meigs Field, devised an airport master plan based on the pioneering idea of what he called "split finger terminals" -- the basic design used in Concourses E & F, and again in H & K -- attached to a main terminal building and providing more space for planes with a smaller terminal building. (Pre-war airport designs had favored ever-larger terminals, exemplified by Berlin's Tempelhof.) His 1947 preliminary plan called for the 10 runways to be arranged tangentially at different headings so that no runway would cross another. This aspect of the plan was changed during the 1950s, as jet aircraft required longer runways, and the airport ultimately adopted a combination of overlapping parallel runways in different orientations.
In 1949, the City renamed the facility O'Hare International Airport to honor Edward O'Hare, the U.S. Navy's first flying ace and Medal of Honor recipient in World War II. Its IATA code, ORD, remained unchanged, however, resulting in O'Hare's being one of the few IATA codes bearing no connection to the airport's name or metropolitan area.
Scheduled passenger service began in 1955 and at the end of 1956 O'Hare was served by American, BOAC, Braniff, Capital, Delta, Eastern, North Central, Pan Am, TWA and United, along with freight airlines Riddle and Slick. O'Hare opened a $1 million "Skymotive" terminal for corporate aircraft in 1955, the first of its kind.
Growth was slow at first. By 1957 Chicago had invested over $25 million in O'Hare, but Midway remained the world's busiest airport and airlines were reluctant to move to O'Hare until better highway access and other improvements were completed. The April 1957 Official Airline Guide shows only 36 weekday departures from the airport. Improvements began to attract the airlines: O'Hare's first dedicated international terminal opened in August 1958, and by April 1959 the airport had expanded to 7,200 acres (29 km2) with new hangars, terminals, parking and other facilities. The expressway link to downtown Chicago, then known as the Northwest Expressway, was completed in 1960. Ground was broken for the main terminal complex (of which Terminals 2 and 3 remain today) on April 1, 1959. The complex, designed by C. F. Murphy and Associates, opened on January 1, 1962.
However, the biggest factor driving the airlines to O'Hare from Midway was the emergence of commercial jet transports; one-square-mile Midway did not have the space for the lengthy runways the new planes required. In July 1962 the last fixed-wing scheduled airline flight in Chicago moved from Midway to O'Hare. President John F. Kennedy formally dedicated the airport on March 23, 1963; after he was assassinated later that year, the section of Interstate 90 between downtown Chicago and O'Hare was renamed the Kennedy Expressway in his honor. The arrival of Midway's traffic quickly made O'Hare the world's busiest airport, serving 10 million passengers annually. Within two years that number would double, with Chicagoans proudly boasting that more people passed through O'Hare in 12 months than Ellis Island had processed in its entire existence. By 1967, Midway was nearly abandoned, with barely 4,400 annual airline operations; to keep the airport alive, Chicago city officials reached an agreement with airlines in late 1972 to shift some services back to Midway to ease the crowding at O'Hare. O'Hare remained the world's busiest airport (by airline operations) until 1998.
Pre-deregulation service
American Airlines, United Airlines and Trans World Airlines had many routes to the West Coast, Northeast and Midwest. TWA flew to Europe nonstop from O'Hare starting in 1958. Northwest Orient Airlines flew to the Northeast, Pacific Northwest, Florida and Hawaii, and via Alaska to Japan and the Far East; their 747 to Tokyo was O'Hare's first nonstop to Asia, in 1977. Delta Air Lines served the Southeast and Midwest.
During this era, international flights (other than to Canada) used Concourses B and C in Terminal 1. Braniff, Continental, Eastern, Northwest, and Piedmont used Concourse D in Terminal 2. United was the main tenant in Concourses E and F of Terminal 2, with Ozark also using gates in Concourse F. In Terminal 3, Concourse G served TWA and Air Canada, and Concourses H and K served American, Delta and North Central, later Republic. Concourse A was, at one time, a satellite terminal for commuter airlines at the west end of the terminal complex.
Post-deregulation developments
In the 1980s, after passage of US airline deregulation, the first major change at O'Hare occurred when TWA decamped Chicago for St. Louis as its main mid-continent hub. Although TWA had a large hangar complex at O'Hare and had famously initiated non-stop service to Europe from Chicago using Boeing 707s in 1958, by the time of deregulation its operation was losing $25 million a year under intense competition from United and American. TWA attempted to compete with an all-coach service to the West Coast at the lowest prices in the market, but American and United eventually matched TWA's fares during the recession of 1979-81, and TWA ended the service. In 1982, TWA swapped three of its Chicago gates for five of American's St. Louis gates, setting the stage for TWA's transition to St. Louis. Northwest likewise ceded O'Hare to the competition and shifted to a Minneapolis and Detroit-centered network by the early 1990s following its acquisition of Republic Airlines in 1986.
On January 17, 1980, the airport's weather station became the official point for Chicago's weather observations and records by the National Weather Service, replacing Midway.
The dominant hubs established at O'Hare in the 1980s by United and American continue to operate today. United developed a new two-concourse, $500 million Terminal 1 (dubbed The Terminal of Tomorrow), which was designed by Helmut Jahn and A. Epstein and Sons.. It was built between 1985 and 1987 on the site of the old Terminal 1 (original international terminal); in addition, Concourse D of Terminal 2 was demolished in order to make way for the new facility. The terminal, which includes 50 gates, is best known for its glass ceilings and the connecting underground passage between Concourses B and C. American renovated its existing facilities in Terminal 3 from 1987 to 1990. These renovations were designed by Kober/Belluschi Associates, Inc. and Welton Becket & Associates. Delta maintained a Chicago hub for some time, even commissioning a new Concourse L (initially known as the Delta Flight Center) in 1983. Ultimately, Delta found competing from an inferior position at O'Hare too expensive and closed its Chicago hub in the 1990s, concentrating its upper Midwest operations at Cincinnati.
Total annual passenger volume at O'Hare reached 30 million in 1968, 40 million in 1976, 60 million in 1990 and 70 million in 1997.
A $80 million renovation of Concourse G in Terminal 3, designed by Teng & Associates, Inc. began in the spring of 1999 and finished in the spring of 2001. The concourse, used for American Eagle service, was enlarged into a 144,500-square-foot (13,420 m2) facility with 25 remodeled gates. A feature of the renovation was the use of six large "sky vaults", large skylights atop V-shaped columns that bring natural light into the previously confined space. A new 4,138-square-foot (384.4 m2) Admirals Club was also added to the concourse.
Delta moved from Terminal 3 to Terminal 2 in 2009 to align its operations with merger partner Northwest. Between that realignment and the merger of Continental and antecedents into United, the airport found itself from 2010 on primarily with United mainline in Terminal 1, United Express, US Airways, Delta and smaller carriers in Terminal 2, and American and smaller carriers in Terminal 3.
Field modernization and reconfiguration
O'Hare's high volume and crowded schedule, along with the vagaries of weather in the upper Midwest, frequently led to delays or cancellations; as a major hub for multiple carriers, such events have a ripple effect on air travel across North America. Official reports at the end of the 1990s ranked O'Hare as one of the worst performing airports in the United States based on percentage of delayed flights. The situation was exacerbated by a practice known as bunching, in which regional and mainline flights arrive within several narrow windows during each day (facilitating quick transfers but creating severe, temporary congestion) and then made worse by bitter competition between United and American, who combined for over 86% of all operations but initially refused to cooperate to ease the situation. In 2004, facing the imposition of flight limits at O'Hare by the FAA, United and American agreed to modify their flight schedules to help reduce congestion caused by clustered arrivals and departures, mainly by adjusting the schedules of their regional carriers.
While reducing the practice of bunching helped, the reality was that the airfield had remained unchanged from its earliest operations with three pairs of intersecting runways. Designed to enable propeller-driven aircraft to take off facing into the wind, the various intersecting runways were both dangerous and highly inefficient; in addition, the power of modern commercial aircraft made into-the-wind takeoffs unnecessary. In 2001, the City's Department of Aviation committed to a $6.6 billion O'Hare Modernization Plan, to be paid by bonds issued against the increase in the passenger facility charge enacted that year as well as increased airline fees. The modernization plan was approved by the FAA in October 2005 and involved a complete reconfiguration of the airfield.
The radical plan included the construction of four new runways, the lengthening of two existing runways, and the decommissioning of two existing runways in order to give the airport six parallel runways and two crosswind runways in a configuration similar to that used at other large hub airports in Atlanta, Dallas/Fort Worth, and Los Angeles. This was a complete redesign of Burke's basic structure; O'Hare had functioned in a circular manner, with the terminal complex in the center and runways at angles around it. Now, O'Hare would be organized into three sections, north to south: the North Airfield, containing three east-west and one crosswind runway and a new cargo area; the terminal complex and ground transportation access in the center; and the South Airfield, again containing three east-west and one crosswind runway and a large cargo area. In addition, the complete reconfiguration of the airport's runways required separate ground control towers for each airfield, with both towers located well over a mile from the core terminal complex. The North Terminal Air Traffic Control Tower was completed in September 2008, followed by the completion of the South Terminal tower in 2015.
Construction of the sixth and final parallel runway (9C/27C) began in 2017 and is expected to be completed by 2020; that completion, along with an extension of runway 9R/27L, will conclude the OMP. Although not yet finished, peak capacity (number of operations/hour) has already increased by 50% and total (all weather) system delays have been reduced by 57% as a result of the OMP. Costs of the O'Hare Modernization Plan had risen, by 2015, beyond $8 billion, but by enabling a greater number of aircraft movements in a safer layout, the OMP provided the structural basis for the capacity and terminal improvements of O'Hare 21.
Future
On March 28, 2018 the Chicago City Council gave approval to new leases with United, American, Delta and Spirit airlines, replacing expiring 1983 legacy leases, which were highly favorable to the carriers. The terms of the new leases allowed for immediate Council approval of a Terminal Area Plan dubbed O'Hare 21, as well as the initial $4 billion in bonds for the project. It marks the first comprehensive, long-term redevelopment and expansion of the terminal core in O'Hare's history. The agreement authorizes $8.5 billion for improvements to streamline the passenger experience, enable quicker, closer connections, improve facilities and technology for TSA and customs inspections, and modernize and expand landside amenities. The most unusual aspect of the plan is the reorganization of the airport into a Global Alliance Hub, the first in North America; airside connections and layout will be optimized around airline alliances. This will be made possible by the construction of the O'Hare Global Terminal where Terminal 2 currently stands. The Global Terminal and its two remote concourses will allow for expansion for both American and United as well as easy interchange with their various international partners through the oneworld (American) or Star (United) alliances. Delta and its SkyTeam alliance partners, as well as Air Choice One, Frontier, jetBlue and Spirit, will relocate to Terminal 5. (Alaska's location is as yet undetermined, but they are a signatory to O'Hare 21.) Unaffiliated international carriers will remain in Terminal 5.
The plan is set to add 3.1 million sq ft (288,000 m²) to the airport's terminals, a new customs processing center in the Global Terminal, 25% more space at every gate to accommodate larger aircraft, reconstruction of gates and concourses (new concourses will be 150 ft (46m) wide), and increase the gate count from 185 to 220. Since construction cannot interfere with ongoing operations at the airport, it is scheduled to take place in stages, with the first step (scheduled to begin 2019) being to dig the tunnel that will connect the new Global Terminal with its two remote concourses. Demolition of Terminal 2 and the subsequent construction of the Global Terminal can only proceed after the completion of the two new remote concourses, which will provide the gates lost by the demolition of Terminal 2. In addition, construction will continue on two smaller gate expansions, announced earlier: a nine-gate extension of Terminal 5, to open in 2021, as well as completion of a separate "stinger" extension of Concourse L with five new American regional gates, scheduled to open in 2018. The massive O'Hare 21 project is scheduled for completion in 2026.
By terms of the agreement between the airlines and the City, costs for O'Hare 21 are to be borne by bonds issued by the City and retired through airport usage fees paid by the airlines.
Maps O'Hare International Airport
Infrastructure
Runways
O'Hare is organized into two parallel east-west runways (9L/27R and 9R/27L) on the north side of the airfield (and forthcoming 9C/27C scheduled for completion in 2020), and three parallel east-west runways (10L/28R, 10C/28C, and 10R/28L) on the south side of the airfield. In addition, there are two parallel crosswind runways oriented northeast/southwest (4R/22L, 4L/22R), one on each side of the airfield. Neither can be used without major disruption to the east-west runways; in fact, 4L/22R crosses 9R/27L and the path of forthcoming 9C/27C, making the chances of the crosswind runways being used, at any given time, quite low. (Their role is primarily emergency relief.) Each side of the airfield has its own ground control tower.
The last of the old runways, originally 14R/32L (renumbered to 15/33 after being shortened by OMP) was closed March 29, 2018, and the FAA Airport Diagram now designates it as taxiway SS. Ironically, this original runway was lengthened and rebuilt with concrete in 1960 to became O'Hare's first jet runway.
O'Hare has a voluntary nighttime (2200-0700) noise abatement program.
ATS, rental lots and remote parking
Passengers within the airport complex can travel via a 2.5 mi (4 km)-long automated people mover, connecting all four terminals landside and the rental and remote parking lots. The system began operation in 1993. As part of a larger, $782 million project involving the new Joint Use Consolidated Parking Facility, the ATS is undergoing a $310 million enhancement that includes replacing the existing 15-car fleet with 36 new Bombardier Transportation INNOVIA APM 256 vehicles, upgrading the previous infrastructure, and extending the line 2,000 ft (610 m) to the new consolidated rental car/parking facility across Mannheim Road where Lots F and G were prior to construction. The ATS normally operates 24 hours a day, but the enhancement project requires the shutdown of the ATS from 1845 - 0445 the next morning. Free shuttle buses provide service from the same stops when the ATS is not running.
The ATS extension will end at the new Joint Use Consolidated Parking Facility, a five-level, 2.5 million sq ft (232,258 m²) structure containing 4,200 spaces for rental cars and offices for all airport-franchised ("on-airport") rental car firms, as well as 2,600 additional public parking spaces. The consolidated facility will also connect the ATS and the O'Hare Metra station; currently, a shuttle bus is necessary to transport passengers between the ATS and Metra. The rental car facility and the related ATS extension are being paid for by an $8/day airport-imposed fee on car rentals at O'Hare (and Midway, to pay for its similar facility). When the project is complete, all existing on-airport rental lots will close, rental shuttle bus service will cease, and rental customers will be required to take the rebuilt ATS to the rental facility in an effort to cut congestion and pollution.
Hotels
The Hilton Chicago O'Hare is between the terminals and parking garage, and is currently the only hotel on airport property. It is owned by the Department of Aviation and operated under an agreement with Hilton Hotels & Resorts.
In November of 2016, the City advertised for bids to renovate and operate the hotel, as well as a new 300-400 room hotel across from Terminal 5 and another, smaller hotel at the new consolidated rental car facility. (The bidding process is open because of the end of Hilton's existing agreement in 2018; Hilton may apply again.) The Department of Aviation is emphasizing accommodation of business travelers and their meetings, requiring large amounts of conference and meeting space, banquet- and ball-rooms, the latest presentation, communication, and information technologies, and other amenities. The bids are predicated on operations beginning in 2020-2021.
Environmental efforts
In 2011, O'Hare became the first major airport to build an apiary on its property; every summer, it hosts as many as 75 hives and a million bees. The bees are maintained by 30 to 40 ex-offenders with little to no work experience and few marketable skills from the North Lawndale community. They not only learn beekeeping but benefit from the bees' hard work, turning it into bottled fresh honey, soaps, lip balms, candles and moisturizers marketed under the beelove(TM) product line; products are sold at stores and used by restaurants throughout both Chicago airports. More than 500 persons have successfully completed the program, transferring to jobs in manufacturing, food processing, customer service, and hospitality; the repeat-offender rate is less than 10%.
In a somewhat lighter vein, O'Hare has used livestock, primarily goats, since 2013 to control vegetation in harder-to-reach areas or on steeper banks as along Willow-Higgins Creek on the airport property. In the summer of 2017, more than 100 goats controlled buckthorn, garlic mustard, ragweed and various other invasive species. The livestock assist not only with vegetation removal and control, but also reduce hiding and nesting places for birds that may interfere with safe aircraft operations, and all without food expense or environmental damage.
Other facilities
The USO has facilities in both Terminals 2 and 3 for the use of traveling military personnel, as well as new recruits going to Recruit Training Command, which has a booth at O'Hare to coordinate transportation to Naval Station Great Lakes for enlistees arriving at O'Hare.
The large Postal Service processing facility at O'Hare is located at the far south end of the airfield along Irving Park Road. Being on airfield property, it is not open to the public. USPS drop locations are provided in Terminals 1, 3 and 5.
Terminals
O'Hare has four numbered passenger terminals with nine lettered concourses and a total of 185 gates.
With the exception of flights from destinations with U.S. Customs and Border Protection preclearance, all inbound international flights arrive at Terminal 5, as the other terminals do not have customs screening facilities. Several carriers, such as American, Iberia, Lufthansa and United, have outbound international flights departing from Terminals 1 and 3. This requires that passengers disembark at Terminal 5, and then crews tow the empty plane to another terminal for boarding. This is done, to expedite connections for passengers transferring from domestic flights to international flights; while Terminals 1, 2, and 3 all allow airside connections, Terminal 5 is separated from the other terminals by a set of taxiways that cross over the airport's access road, requiring passengers to exit security, ride the Airport Transit System, then reclear security before boarding.
Terminal 1
Terminal 1 is used for United flights, including all mainline flights and some United Express operations, as well as flights for Star Alliance partners Lufthansa and All Nippon Airways. Terminal 1 has 50 gates on two concourses:
- Concourse B - 22 gates
- Concourse C - 28 gates
Concourses B and C are linear concourses located in separate buildings parallel to each other. Concourse B is adjacent to the airport roadway and houses passenger Check-ins, baggage claims, and security screenings on its landside and aircraft gates on its airside. Concourse C is a satellite terminal with gates on all sides, in the middle of the ramp, and is connected to Concourse B via an underground pedestrian tunnel under the ramp. The tunnel originates between gates B8 and B9 in Concourse B, and ends on Concourse C between gates C17 and C19. The tunnel is illuminated with a neon installation titled Sky's the Limit (1987) by Canadian artist Michael Hayden, which plays an airy and very slow-tempo version of "Rhapsody in Blue".
United operates three United Clubs in Terminal 1: one on Concourse B near gate B6, one located near gate B16, and one on Concourse C near gate C16. There is also a United First International Lounge and United Arrivals Suite in Concourse C near gate C18. Additionally, there is a United Polaris Lounge, near gate C18.
Concourse B features an extension at its northern end (gates B18-B22) referred to as the "banana gates" due to the extension's narrow, curved shape. The final gate, B22, branches off into three separate jetways for three regional jet parking positions.
Terminal 2
Terminal 2 houses Air Canada, Delta and Delta Connection domestic flights, and most United Express operations (Check-in for all United flights is done in Terminal 1). Terminal 2 has 43 gates on two concourses.
- Concourse E - 17 gates
- Concourse F - 26 gates
There is a United Club in Concourse F near gate F8, and a Delta Sky Club in Concourse E near gate E6. US Airways operated out of Terminal 2 until it moved operations to Terminal 3 in July 2014, to be co-located with its merger partner American. Check-in for US Airways remained at Terminal 2 until September 16, 2014, when ticket counters relocated to Terminal 3.
Terminal 3
Terminal 3 houses all American flights, as well as departures for select Oneworld carriers including Iberia and Japan Airlines, plus unaffiliated low-cost carriers. Terminal 3 currently has 75 gates (5 more to open 2018) on four concourses:
- Concourse G - 25 gates
- Concourse H - 17 gates
- Concourse K - 16 gates
- Concourse L - 17 gates
Concourses G and L house most American Eagle operations, while Concourses H and K house American's mainline operations. American's oneworld partners Japan Airlines and Iberia depart from K19 and non-affiliated Alaska Airlines operates from H4. Concourse L is used also for flights operated by Air Choice One, Frontier, JetBlue, Spirit and Virgin America.
The airline has three Admiral's Clubs in Terminal 3 and one Flagship Lounge. The main Club and Flagship Lounge is located in the crosswalk between concourses H & K at gates H6/K6; the other Admiral's Clubs are located at gates L1 and G8.
Terminal 5
Terminal 5 houses all of O'Hare's international arrivals (excluding flights with American and United from destinations with U.S. border preclearance.) Other destinations with U.S. border preclearance, including flights operated by Aer Lingus and Etihad Airways, arrive at Terminal 5, but are treated as domestic arrivals. With the exception of select Star Alliance and oneworld carriers that board from Terminal 1 or Terminal 3 respectively, all non-U.S. carriers except Air Canada depart from Terminal 5. Terminal 5 has 21 gates on one concourse.
- Concourse M - 21 gates
Terminal 5 has several airline lounges, including the Air France - KLM Lounge, British Airways First Class Galleries and Business Class Terraces Lounges, Korean Air Lounge, Scandinavian Airlines Lounge, Swissport Lounge, and Swiss International Air Lines First Class Lounge and Business Class Lounge. The airport's U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility is located at the arrival (lower) level.
Beginning in 2012, Terminal 5 underwent a $26 million amenities improvement which involved adding dining and retail post-security, including many Chicago-based restaurants and brands, updated design, and a re-engineered layout. The project was completed on April 4, 2014. Terminal 5 is run by Westfield Management.
Although load factors had not demanded it, the Chicago Department of Aviation approved construction to build out a gate that could handle an Airbus A380. The new gate, M11a, is the only gate capable of handling the superjumbo and, like other gates in Terminal 5, is designated as "common use," meaning no specific airline has exclusive control over it. Emirates and British Airways expressed interest in using their A380s on routes involving Chicago; the gate became operational on July 19, 2016, with Emirates being the first airline to use it. British Airways announced on August 8, 2017 that an A380 would serve O'Hare on one of BA's two daily flights from Heathrow starting May 8, 2018, making that the start of regularly scheduled A380 service to O'Hare.
Airlines and destinations
Passenger
Cargo
There are two main cargo areas at O'Hare that have warehouse, build-up/tear-down and aircraft parking facilities.
The Cargo Area (now the South Cargo Area) was relocated in the 1980s from the airport's first air cargo facilities, which were located east of the terminal core, where Terminal 5 now stands. Many of the structures in the new Cargo Area then had to be rebuilt, again, to allow for the OMP and specifically runway 10R/28L; as a result, what is now called the South Cargo Area is located between 10R/28L and 10C/28C. These facilities were established mainly by traditional airline-based air cargo; Air France Cargo, American, JAL Cargo, KLM, Lufthansa Cargo, Northwest and United all built purpose-built, freestanding cargo facilities, although most of them now lease the space out to dedicated cargo firms. In addition, the area contains two separate facilities for shipper FedEx and one for UPS.
The Northeast Cargo Area (NEC) is a conversion of the former military base (the Douglas plant area) and is at the northeast corner of the airport property adjacent to Bessie Coleman Drive. It is a new facility designed to increase O'Hare's cargo capacity by 50%. Two buildings currently make up the NEC: a 540,0000 sq ft (50,168 m²) building completed in 2016, and a 240,000 sq ft (22,297 m²) building that was completed in 2017. A third structure, scheduled for completion in 2019, will complete the NEC with another 150,000 sq ft (13,935 m²) of warehouse space.
The combined capabilities of the cargo areas provide 2 million sq ft (185,806 m²) of airside cargo space, on four ramps, with parking for 40 wide-body freighters (including 747-8Fs), matched with over 2 million sq ft of landside warehousing capability. O'Hare shipped over 1.7 million tonnes of cargo in 2015, third among major airports in the US. The Department of Aviation estimates the value of the yearly shipments at $200 billion.
Statistics
Top destinations
Annual traffic
Accidents and incidents
The following is a list of crashes or incidents that happened on planes at O'Hare or on approach or just after takeoff from the airport.
- On September 17, 1961, Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 706 had a mechanical failure in control surfaces and crashed upon takeoff, killing all 37 on board.
- On August 16, 1965, United Airlines Flight 389 crashed 30 miles (48 km) east of O'Hare while on approach, killing all 30 on board.
- On March 21, 1968, United Airlines Flight 9963 overran Runway 9R (now 10L) on take off. All 3 crew on board were injured, and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.
- On December 27, 1968, North Central Airlines Flight 458 crashed into a hangar at O'Hare, killing 27 on board and one on the ground.
- On December 20, 1972, North Central Airlines Flight 575 crashed upon takeoff after colliding with Delta Airlines Flight 954 taxiing across the active runway, killing 10 passengers.
- On March 28, 1977, Douglas C-47A N57131 of Emery Worldwide was destroyed by fire following a taxiing accident. The aircraft was due to operate a cargo flight.
- On May 25, 1979, American Airlines Flight 191, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10 to Los Angeles International Airport lost its left wing engine while taking off from Runway 32R, then stalled and crashed into a field on the opposite side of Touhy Avenue from present-day Runway 9L/27R, killing all 271 people on board and two people on the ground. The crash remains the deadliest single-aircraft crash in United States history, and the deadliest aviation disaster in U.S. history before the September 11, 2001 attacks.
- On March 19, 1982, a United States Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker crashed upon approach to O'Hare 40 miles (64 km) northwest of the city (near Woodstock), killing 27 people on board.
- On February 9, 1998, American Airlines Flight 1340 crashed upon landing from Kansas City, injuring 22 passengers.
- On April 1, 1999, an Air China Boeing 747, Flight 9018, taxied onto an active runway at O'Hare during the takeoff of Korean Air Flight 36, another Boeing 747. Flight 36 averted a collision by taking off early and missing the Air China aircraft by 75 feet. There were 8 people on the Air China cargo plane and 379 on the Korean Air flight.
- On October 28, 2016, at approximately 2:35 p.m. local time, American Airlines Flight 383, a Boeing 767-300, aborted takeoff after what was said to be a blown tire followed by a problem with its right engine. The aircraft was evacuated on the runway via emergency slides as a large fire engulfed the right engine and wing. Nine people were injured, 2 seriously.
Popular Culture
The airport is featured in several well known movies.
In Home Alone and Home Alone 2, the McCallister family departs from Terminal 3 in both films.
Griswold mentions that Santa was spotted at O'Hare airport during National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.
Both the book Allegiant and the film adaptation set the Bureau of Genetic Welfare's headquarters in the airport. In the novel, it is stated that the agency stripped equipment from the city and refurbished the terminals into offices, laboratories, and other facilities. A hotel connected to the airport was converted into housing for the members of the bureau. Aircraft are stationed for surveillance and observation purposes. The film version has a futuristic facility built on the ruins of the old airport. Bullfrogs are launched from hangers mounted on the facility, and the rest of the airport's facilities are clearly seen to be heavily damaged or destroyed.
See also
- Golden Corridor, for the region of commerce and industry surrounding O'Hare and extending west, along the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway
- Proposed Chicago south suburban airport
References
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.
External links
Source of the article : Wikipedia
0 Comments