Early airfields and airports grew from the use of airplanes for military, agricultural, airmail, and even aerial observation purposes. Equipped with grass or dirt runways, they were not very pleasant places for those passengers who first flew once US scheduled airline service began in 1926. Arriving and departing aircraft blasted dirt, pebbles, and grit into the passengers' faces as they walked exposed through all types of weather and climbed open stairways onto their planes. Eventually, procedures changed so that aircraft could warm up away from the passengers, then be pushed to the boarding area by hand with the engine off, boarded, and restarted with the doors closed. Many of these airfields originated as a result of the airmail system created in the United States just after World War I. As postal officials laid plans for a transcontinental airmail system between New York and San Francisco via Chicago in 1920, they persuaded many local communities to build the necessary facilities for the service in what became a “triumphal procession” across the country. Many of our largest airports can trace their beginnings back to those early days and this is the second installment in a series which will trace the growth and development of what are today some of the largest airports in the nation. Next up: Chicago O'Hare Airport.
This airport is one of the busiest in the United States, consistently ranking among the top four for the past several years. It was developed as a major expansion for the city after the Second World War and saw huge growth when newly introduced jets moved away from closer-in Midway Airport. What we now know as Chicago O’Hare International started life in1942 when the land was taken over by the Army Air Corps and then handed over to the Douglas Aircraft Company. It became the location for a Douglas Aircraft production plant which delivered to the military C-54 Skymaster Aircraft, a derivative of the popular Douglas DC-4 commercial airliner. The former farmland, known as Orchard Place, was developed into manufacturing facilities with extensive railroad connections and an airfield simply known as “Douglas Airport.” Over 600 C-54s were built there during the war years and flown out to various deployments.
Midway Airport, originally known as Chicago Municipal Airport, opened in 1926, close to the city limits. By the close of the next decade it became evident that further expansion would be needed, but plans for this went on hold as war broke out in December of 1941. After the conflict, the City of Chicago began to consider options for airport expansion. At the same time, Douglas abandoned their plant and the site became a commercial airport. In 1947, the Chicago City Council picked Orchard Field as the site for the city’s new international airport. One of the first major, planned airports in the US, it took on all the then-latest developments, including concourses designed with “wings” emanating from a central building, jet bridges and underground fuel infrastructure, as well as highway and rail access. It was renamed Chicago O’Hare Airport in 1949 in honor of Lieutenant Commander Edward “Butch” O’Hare, the famed World War II US Navy pilot recognized as the first fighter ace and first naval aviator recipient of the Medal of Honor. The airport's three-letter IATA (International Air Transport Association) code remained as “ORD” in reference to its original designation as Orchard Field.
Passenger service at O’Hare began in 1955, but it was slow to grow as considerable traffic remained at Midway Airport. This changed with the introduction of jet aircraft in the late 50s. At the time, Midway had no space for the runways that aircraft like the Boeing 707 and the Douglas DC-8 required so many airlines moved their Chicago flights to larger O’Hare. This, coupled with the growth in commercial aviation, gave O’Hare a huge boost. By 1961, it was the second-largest airport in the US by passenger volume with 9.62 million travelers. (New York’s Idlewild was the busiest that year with 10.15 million passengers.) Like most of the busiest US airports, Chicago O’Hare today gets its passenger volume from both local traffic and its role as a connecting hub. That role solidified soon after deregulation of the US aviation industry occurred in 1978. Northwest Airlines later developed a hub at the airport, but ceded O'Hare to the competition and shifted to a Minneapolis/St. Paul and Detroit-centered network by the early 1990s. United and American Airlines both established hub operations at the airport in 1982 which remain to this day.
O’Hare’s runways have seen significant changes over the decades. Being outside city limits meant space was never a problem The airport grew with seven runways occupying a huge area by 1971. Those were aligned at several different orientations to help with operations in varying wind conditions. As airport traffic increased though, this led to problems as all but one of the seven runways intersected. This meant they couldn’t be used at the same time and therefore limited the airport’s overall effectiveness. A major redevelopment project put forward in 2001 solved the problem. It changed the runway patterns to offer a much more efficient setup of six parallel runways and two additional crosswind runways. While the runway project encountered several legal and financial battles, the redesign was finally completed in 2021.
The Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) has opened the new eastern extension of Terminal 5 (T5) at O'Hare International Airport, marking the completion of the T5 expansion project. The $1.3 billion four-year project expanded the terminal's capacity by 25% to improve efficiency and reduce delays and added nearly 350,000 square feet to the existing building. Seven new gates opened in the extended East Concourse in summer 2022 and ten renovated gates opened in the West Concourse in October 2022 as the new home for Delta Air Lines, which shifted operations from the carrier's long-time home in Terminal 2. The project continues to open in phases throughout this year. “O’Hare is a significant economic engine for our entire region and the first impression of Chicago for millions of visitors every year,” said former Mayor Lori Lightfoot. “That’s why we are especially proud to cut the ribbon to this expanded, modernized Terminal 5, which represents a major milestone in O’Hare’s curb-to-gate transformation into one of the great airports of the Twenty-First Century under the O’Hare 21 capital improvement program,” she said.“With new gates, increased passenger amenities, a more efficient baggage handling system, and expanded security checkpoints and customs facilities, the state-of-the-art Terminal 5 of today is equipped to handle the growing demand we expect O’Hare to see in the coming years while offering an improved passenger experience,” said Jamie L. Rhee, Commissioner, Chicago Department of Aviation. “These crucial infrastructure investments will ensure that O’Hare maintains the capacity it needs to move forward with additional improvements with minimal impact to operations.”
An even bigger investment, $2.2 billion, will go into a completely new terminal dedicated to international traffic, which will rise on the soon-to-be-demolished Terminal 2 – the oldest facility still in use today. At the moment, O’Hare has a single international terminal (T5) that is separate from the domestic one, so passengers on connecting flights have to switch terminals. In the new Terminal 2, called O’Hare Global Terminal, passengers will be able to clear US Customs, return to the secure area and be only minutes away from their departing gate – without needing to ride a train to a different terminal or tow bags across the airfield. The design of the new building is the result of a competition won by Chicago’s Studio ORD, and is inspired by a city icon, the Municipal Device. (It’s an encircled Y symbol that represents the north and south branches of the Chicago River coming together, and can be found throughout the city on buildings, fences, lamp posts and bridges.) Similarly, the new terminal building will be Y-shaped and the roof will be clad in wood, with pleats oriented to maximize natural daylight. At 2.2 million square feet, the Global Terminal will be 75% bigger than the existing Terminal 2, and one of the largest in the US. That will make room for a number of amenities including nursing rooms, yoga studios, and a variety of food and beverage options. It also aims to be more efficient for airlines, thanks to a new baggage handling system that boasts automated storage for 5,000 bags, and more flexible gates – capable of handling widebody aircraft and then quickly reconfiguring for smaller ones. Previously, the lack of such flexibility has meant that, over the years, O’Hare’s original 189 gates were reduced to 184, as the average wingspan of aircraft increased as a way to save fuel. At the end of the entire project, gate capacity will increase by 25%, and the overall square footage of passenger terminals will go from about five million square feet today to just under nine million square feet.
O’Hare is the fourth busiest airport in the world by passenger volume as over 33 million passengers used the airport in 2022, representing an increase of nearly 26% compared with 2021. With approximately 866 daily direct flights to 166 US cities and approximately 113 daily direct flights to 59 international destinations, the airport is well positioned for future growth and is busily modernizing in order to accommodate it.
Until next time…safe travels.
As always, thanks for the insight into this airport from 1942 to what we now know. Incredible to perceive such technology and infrastructure was needed and accomplished to achieve the airport of the future we know of as today. ❤️