O'Hare International Airport

"O'Hare" redirects here. For other uses, see O'Hare (disambiguation).

Chicago O'Hare International Airport
Satellite image of the airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
Owner/OperatorChicago Department of Aviation
ServesChicago metropolitan area
LocationO'Hare, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
OpenedFebruary 1944; 80 years ago (1944-02)[1]
Hub for
Focus city forPolar Air Cargo
Operating base for
Time zoneCST (UTC−06:00)
 • Summer (DST)CDT (UTC−05:00)
Elevation AMSL204 m / 668 ft
Coordinates41°58′43″N 87°54′17″W / 41.97861°N 87.90472°W / 41.97861; -87.90472
Websitewww.flychicago.com/ohare
Maps
FAA airport diagram
FAA airport diagram
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
4L/22R 2,286 7,500 Asphalt
4R/22L 2,461 8,075 Asphalt
9L/27R 2,286 7,500 Concrete
9C/27C 3,427 11,245 Concrete
9R/27L 3,432 11,260 Asphalt
10L/28R 3,962 13,000 Asphalt
10C/28C 3,292 10,800 Concrete
10R/28L 2,286 7,500 Concrete
Helipads
Number Length Surface
m ft
H1 61 200 Concrete
Statistics (2023)
Passenger volume73,894,226
Aircraft movements720,582
Cargo (metric tons)1,906,462.5
Source: O'Hare International Airport[3]

Chicago O'Hare International Airport (IATA: ORD, ICAO: KORD, FAA LID: ORD) is a major international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, United States, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately 17 miles (27 km) northwest of the Loop business district. Operated by the Chicago Department of Aviation[4] and covering 7,627 acres (11.92 sq mi; 30.87 km2).[5][6] O'Hare has non-stop flights to 249 destinations in North America, South America, the Caribbean, Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East and the North Atlantic region as of Summer 2024.[7][8] As of 2024, O'Hare is considered the most connected airport in the US, and 5th most connected airport in the world.[9] It is also the United States' 4th busiest airport, and 7th biggest airport.[citation needed]

Designed to be the successor to Chicago's Midway International Airport, itself once nicknamed the "busiest square mile in the world," O'Hare began as an airfield serving a Douglas manufacturing plant for C-54 military transports during World War II. It was renamed Orchard Field Airport in the mid-1940s and assigned the IATA code ORD. In 1949, it was renamed after aviator Edward "Butch" O'Hare, the U.S. Navy's first Medal of Honor recipient during that war.[10][11] As the first major airport planned after World War II, O'Hare's innovative design pioneered concepts such as concourses, direct highway access to the terminal, jet bridges, and underground refueling systems.[12]

O'Hare became famous during the jet age, holding the distinction as the world's busiest airport by passenger traffic from 1963 to 1998. It still ranks as one the busiest airports in the world, according to the Airports Council International rankings.[13][14] In 2019, O'Hare had 919,704 aircraft movements, averaging 2,520 per day, the most of any airport in the world in part because of a large number of regional flights.[15] On the ground, road access to the airport is offered by airport shuttle, bus, the Chicago "L", or taxis. Interstate 190 (Kennedy Expressway) goes directly into the airport. O'Hare is a hub for American Airlines and United Airlines (which is headquartered in Willis Tower),[16][17] as well as an operating base for Frontier Airlines[18] and Spirit Airlines.[19]

  1. ^ "Chicago O'Hare International Airport". AirNav, LLC. Archived from the original on October 29, 2016. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
  2. ^ "Frontier Airlines to Re-Open Pilot Base in Chicago". Frontier Newsroom. November 21, 2023. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
  3. ^ "Year to Date Operations-Passengers, Cargo Summary December 2023" (PDF). flychicago.com. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
  4. ^ "About the CDA". City of Chicago Department of Aviation. Archived from the original on May 4, 2018. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
  5. ^ FAA Airport Form 5010 for ORD PDF, effective October 31, 2024.
  6. ^ "ORD airport data at skyvector.com". skyvector.com. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  7. ^ "Non-stop Service". Chicago Department of Aviation. Archived from the original on March 26, 2019. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  8. ^ "O'Hare to offer first direct Chicago-to-Africa flights". Chicago Tribune. Chicago: Tribune Publishing. Associated Press. Archived from the original on April 1, 2018. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  9. ^ Smith, Gordon (August 19, 2024). "Istanbul is the World's Most Connected Airport – New York and Tokyo Miss the Top 20". Skift News. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  10. ^ Petchmo, Ian. "The Fascinating History Chicago's O'Hare International Airport: 1920–1960". airwaysmag.com. Airways International Inc. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  11. ^ "O'Hare History". Chicago: Chicago Department of Transportation. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  12. ^ Burley, Paul. "Ralph H. Burke: Early Innovator of Chicago O'Hare International Airport". O'Hare@50. Northwestern University Libraries. Archived from the original on May 11, 2018. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  13. ^ "O'Hare Ranks as World's Fourth-Busiest Airport, According to New Report". NBC News. Chicago: NBC Owned Television Stations. April 11, 2022. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
  14. ^ Josephs, Leslie (April 15, 2024). "World's busiest airports show surge in international travel. Here are the rankings". CNBC. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
  15. ^ Hetter, Katia. "This is the world's busiest airport". CNN Travel. Atlanta: Warner Bros. Discovery. Archived from the original on November 19, 2019. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  16. ^ Mutzbaugh, Ben. "The fleet and hubs of United Airlines, by the numbers". USA Today. Washington: Gannett. Archived from the original on February 12, 2018. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
  17. ^ "Chicago, IL: O'Hare (ORD)". Washington: Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  18. ^ Harden, Mark (September 30, 2014). "Frontier Airlines making Chicago's O'Hare a focus". Chicago Business Journal. Chicago: American City Business Journals. Archived from the original on October 3, 2014. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
  19. ^ Bhaskara, Vinay (October 1, 2014). "Spirit Airlines Adds Two New Routes at Chicago O'Hare". Airways News. Archived from the original on October 3, 2014. Retrieved October 1, 2014.