O'Hare International Airport

Coordinates: 41°58′43″N 87°54′17″W / 41.97861°N 87.90472°W / 41.97861; -87.90472
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chicago O'Hare International Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerCity of Chicago
OperatorChicago Department of Aviation
ServesChicago metropolitan area
LocationChicago, Illinois, U.S.
OpenedFebruary 1944 (1944-02)[1]
Hub for

Cargo

Focus city for
Elevation AMSL668 ft / 204 m
Coordinates41°58′43″N 87°54′17″W / 41.97861°N 87.90472°W / 41.97861; -87.90472
Websitewww.flychicago.com/ohare
Map
ORD is located in Chicago metropolitan area
ORD
ORD
Location of airport in Chicago
ORD is located in Illinois
ORD
ORD
ORD (Illinois)
ORD is located in the United States
ORD
ORD
ORD (the United States)
ORD is located in North America
ORD
ORD
ORD (North America)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
4L/22R 7,500 2,286 Asphalt
4R/22L 8,075 2,461 Asphalt
9L/27R 7,500 2,286 Concrete
9C/27C 11,245 3,428 Under Construction
9R/27L 7,967 2,428 Asphalt/Concrete
10R/28L 7,500 2,286 Concrete
10C/28C 10,801 3,292 Concrete
10L/28R 13,000 3,962 Asphalt/Concrete
Helipads
Number Length Surface
ft m
H1 200 61 Concrete
Statistics (2018)
Passenger volume83,245,472
Aircraft movements903,747
Cargo (metric tons)1.868 million
Economic impact$39 billion
Sources: FAA[4] and airport's website[5][6]

Chicago O'Hare International Airport is an airport on the edge of Chicago, Illinois. It is in the Chicago neighborhood O'Hare. It is one of the largest airports in both the United States and the world. It is a "hub" for both United Airlines (its second largest hub) and American Airlines, meaning that flights from many cities come and go from the airport daily. It gets the most international flights of any American airport not on the East or West Coast.

The Federal government of the United States reduces the amount of delayed flights in the airport in order to shift the burden of domestic flights at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport.[7]

United Airlines (including United Express) is the largest airline at O'Hare, carrying over 45% of passengers. O'Hare is the second-largest hub for United, after Houston-Bush. American Airlines (including American Eagle) has the second largest operation at O'Hare, carrying 37.08% of passengers. O'Hare is American Airlines' third-largest hub, after Dallas/Fort Worth and Charlotte-Douglas.[8]

O'Hare has been voted the "Best Airport in North America" for 10 years by two separate sources: Readers of the U.S. Edition of Business Traveler Magazine (1998–2003) and Global Traveler Magazine (2004–2007).[9] Travel and Leisure magazine's 2009 "America's Favorite Cities" ranked Chicago's Airport System (O'Hare and Midway) the second-worst for delays, New York City's airport system (JFK, Newark Liberty, and LaGuardia) being the first.[10] O'Hare currently accounts for over a sixth of the nation's total flight cancellations.[11]

The O'Hare Airport is 668 feet (204 meters) above sea level.[12]

It is operated by the City of Chicago Department of Aviation. Most of O'Hare Airport is in Cook County. However, a section of the southwest part of the airport is in DuPage County. The Cook County portion is located within a section of the city of Chicago contiguously connected to the rest of the city via a narrow strip of land about 200 feet (61 m) wide, running along Foster Ave. from the Des Plaines River to the airport.[13] This land was annexed into the city limits in the 1950s to assure the massive tax revenue associated with the airport being part of the city. The strip is bounded on the north by Rosemont and the south by Schiller Park.[14]

History[change | change source]

The airport was constructed in 1942–43. It was made as a manufacturing plant for airplanes during World War II.[15] The site was chosen for its proximity to the city and transportation.[15] The two-million square-foot (180,000 m²) factory needed easy access to the workforce of the nation's then-second-largest city, as well as its extensive railroad infrastructure. Orchard Place was a small nearby farming community.[15]

Douglas Company's contract ended in 1945 and though plans were proposed to build commercial aircraft, the company ultimately chose to concentrate production on the west coast. With the departure of Douglas, the airport took the name Orchard Field Airport. That was the source of its three-letter IATA code ORD.

In 1945, the facility was chosen by the city of Chicago as the site for a facility to meet future aviation demands. Matthew Laflin Rockwell (1915–1988) was the director of planning for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and responsible for the site selection and design of O'Hare International Airport. He was the great grandson of Matthew Laflin, a founder and pioneer of Chicago. The architect of the airport was Gertrude Kerbis.

The O'Hare is currently undergoing the largest construction projects in the United States.[16]

In March 2014, a Blue Line train was derailed and crashed at the O'Hare train station, injuring 32 people.[17]

Transportation[change | change source]

  • Road vehicles enter and exit via I-190, which branches off I-90 (the Kennedy Expressway) leading to downtown Chicago. Cars may also access the airport locally from Mannheim Road, the airport's eastern boundary. Aside from cargo access on its south side, all airport traffic travels through the east side of the airport. Local residents sometimes refer to I-190 as "the world's busiest Cul-de-sac" as a result of the one way access.
  • Subway trains from the Blue Line of the Chicago Transit Authority's 'L' depart the terminal from an underground station that opened on September 3, 1984.
  • Commuter trains from the Metra North Central Service stop at the O'Hare Transfer station, which is connected to the Airport Transit System via a shuttle bus.
  • Taxi and Limo Services also provide transportation to/from Chicago O'Hare Airport.

Accidents[change | change source]

1057 deaths have happened as a result of accidents to or from Chicago O'Hare.[18]

Airlines[change | change source]

The following airlines fly to O'Hare International Airport:[19]

The following airlines used to fly to O'Hare International Airport:

Statistics[change | change source]

Yearly traffic[change | change source]

Traffic by calendar year[26]
Year Passenger volume Change over previous year Aircraft movements Cargo tonnage
2000 72,144,244 Decrease00.64% 908,989 1,640,524
2001 67,448,064 Decrease06.51% 911,917 1,413,834
2002 66,565,952 Decrease01.31% 922,817 1,436,386
2003 69,508,672 Increase04.40% 928,691 1,601,736
2004 75,533,822 Increase08.67% 992,427 1,685,808
2005 76,581,146 Increase01.38% 972,248 1,701,446
2006 76,282,212 Decrease00.30% 958,643 1,718,011
2007 76,182,025 Decrease00.15% 926,973 1,690,742
2008 70,819,015 Decrease07.03% 881,566 1,480,847
2009 64,397,782 Decrease09.07% 827,899 1,198,426
2010 67,026,191 Increase03.83% 882,617 1,577,048
2011 66,790,996 Decrease00.35% 878,798 1,505,218
2012 66,834,931 Increase00.04% 878,108 1,443,569
2013 66,909,638 Increase00.12% 883,287 1,434,377
2014 70,075,204 Increase04.45% 881,933 1,578,330
2015 76,949,336 Increase09.81% 875,136 1,742,501
2016 77,960,588 Increase01.31% 867,635 1,726,362
2017 79,828,183 Increase02.40% 867,049 1,950,137
2018 83,339,186[6] Increase04.40% 903,747 1,868,880
2019 84,649,115 Increase01.69% 919,704 1,788,001
2020 30,860,251 Decrease063.54% 538,211 2,052,025
2021 54,020,399 Increase075.06% 684,201 2,536,576

Gallery[change | change source]

References[change | change source]

  1. "Chicago O'Hare International Airport". AirNav, LLC. Retrieved 2016-10-28.
  2. Harden, Mark (September 30, 2014). "Frontier Airlines making Chicago's O'Hare a focus". Chicago Business Journal. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
  3. 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.
  4. FAA Airport Master Record for ORD (Form 5010 PDF), effective March 15, 2007.
  5. "Mayor Emanuel Announces Record-Breaking Year for Passengers and Air Cargo at Chicago Airports". flychicago.com. Chicago Department of Transportation. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  6. 6.0 6.1 https://www.flychicago.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/Business/FactAndFigures/AirTraffic/1218%20ORD%20SUMMARY.pdf Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "flychicago.com" defined multiple times with different content
  7. "O'Hare International Airport (ORD) Chicago – United States". Airport booking center.com. Retrieved September 7, 2013.[permanent dead link]
  8. "Chicago, IL: O'Hare (ORD)". Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
  9. "Chicago Voted Best Airport in North America" (PDF) (Press release). Chicago Department of Aviation. December 6, 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 27, 2009. Retrieved July 15, 2012.
  10. "America's Favorite Cities 2009". Travel + Leisure. Archived from the original on August 6, 2010. Retrieved July 15, 2012.
  11. "Table 6: Ranking of Major Airport On-Time Departure Performance Year-to-date through July 2006". Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Archived from the original on March 19, 2012. Retrieved July 15, 2012.
  12. "Chicago O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois, United States". Airport information.org. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
  13. "City of Chicago Community Areas" (PDF). Webportal. City of Chicago. Retrieved May 4, 2012.
  14. "Ward 41" (PDF). Webportal. City of Chicago. October 2007. Retrieved December 24, 2008.[permanent dead link]
  15. 15.0 15.1 15.2 "Northwest Chicago Historical Society – O'Hare". Northwest Chicago Historical Society. Archived from the original on July 27, 2011. Retrieved July 15, 2012.
  16. "O'Hare International Airport History". Fly Chicago.com. Archived from the original on October 17, 2013. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  17. "Chicago airport train derailment injures 32". BBC News Online. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
  18. "Aviation Safety Network > ASN Aviation Safety Database > Airports > Chicago-O'Hare International Airport, IL profile". Aviation Safety Network. July 13, 2008. Archived from the original on October 7, 2010. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
  19. "Chicago Department of Aviation - Airlines at O'Hare International Airport". Archived from the original on 2012-11-01. Retrieved 2012-11-06.
  20. Karp, Gregory. "Finnair to begin flights from O'Hare". chicagotribune.com.
  21. "City of Chicago :: Interjet Announces New Service Between Mexico City and Chicago". www.chicago.gov.
  22. "WOW air to begin flights from O'Hare to Iceland". ABC7 Chicago. 27 March 2017.
  23. "ORD95". www.departedflights.com.
  24. "ORD routes @ OurAirports". ourairports.com. Archived from the original on 2015-05-08. Retrieved 2015-05-11.
  25. "Virgin Atlantic suspends London Heathrow - Chicago O'Hare". London Air Travel. 10 December 2016.
  26. "Air Traffic Data". www.flychicago.com. Archived from the original on April 6, 2018.

Other websites[change | change source]