CHICAGO O’HARE AND MIDWAY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS restaurants to your favorite national food franchises. Shop boutiques, national brands, and convenience kiosks. There are power stations located throughout the terminals and free WiFi in most public areas of the airport. Other features include public art displays, rooms for nursing mothers, and service animal relief areas. A New O’Hare is Taking Flight O’Hare 21 is a historic plan by the City of Chicago and its airline partners to transform O’Hare International Airport with new facilities and modern infrastructure. The centerpiece is an $8.5 billion investment that will expand the airport’s capacity and connectivity. Over the next decade, this program will deliver a new international terminal, provide 25% more gate frontage capacity, introduce a more streamlined passenger experience from curb to gate, and allow all three of the major airline alliances to co-locate within the same terminals. The commissioning of Runway 9C-27C in November 2020 marked the completion of the O’Hare Modernization Program’s final new runway. O’Hare now has eight runways — the most of any commercial airport in the United States. A newly completed Multimodal Facility further enhances the guest experience, with a 2.5 million-square-foot transportation facility that consolidates rental car operations, public parking, Metra rail, and regional buses in one centralized location — offering more convenience, reducing traffic, and improving air quality. Larger, more modern cars on the Airport Transit System (ATS) will provide passengers with a faster and more reliable journey. In addition, planning is underway for the modernization of the on-site Hilton Chicago O’Hare Airport hotel, which will expand travelers’ direct access to accommodations and provide updated conference facilities. AIRPORT FACTS 1. O’Hare has historically been among the nation’s largest hot dog vendors, serving one million hot dogs a year. 2. Due to its compact size and shape, Midway is often called the “Busiest Square Mile in Aviation.” 3. O’Hare now has eight runways, the most of any commercial airport in the U.S. The newest Runway 9C-27C, is as wide as a 16-lane highway. 4. To prepare for winter weather, O’Hare has a deicing facility the size of 17 football fields that can service up to 20 aircraft at once. 4 FUN O’Hare airfield 22 choosechicago.com/tools CITY OF CHICAGO
Chicago Travel Professionals Guide 2021: Page 22
