O'Hare International Airport

Chicago O'Hare International Airport (<a href="/facts/IATA_airport_code/ogq7w5UQ">IATA</a>: ORD, <a href="/facts/ICAO_airport_code/KAU1V4MX">ICAO</a>: KORD, <a href="/facts/Federal_Aviation_Administration/PYsXt3YT">FAA</a> <a href="/facts/Location_identifier/fj2bnvhY">LID</a>: ORD) is the primary international airport serving <a href="/facts/Chicago/yPMokrXH">Chicago</a>, <a href="/facts/Illinois/MuPb1Ctn">Illinois</a>, United States, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately 17 miles (27 km) northwest of the <a href="/facts/Chicago_Loop/sdHwWFFu">Loop</a> business district. The airport is operated by the Chicago Department of Aviation and covering 7,627 acres (11.92 sq mi; 30.87 km2). 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. As of 2024, O'Hare is considered the most connected airport in the United States, and fifth most connected airport in the world. It is also the world's fourth busiest airport and 16th largest airport.
Designed to be the successor to Chicago's <a href="/facts/Midway_International_Airport/ICKzV7Eh">Midway International Airport</a>, itself once nicknamed the "busiest square mile in the world", O'Hare began as an airfield serving a <a href="/facts/Douglas_Aircraft_Company/vkkFDEhB">Douglas</a> manufacturing plant for <a href="/facts/C-54/QzBf5LgP">C-54</a> military transports during <a href="/facts/World_War_II/2efV5L1U">World War II</a>. It was renamed Orchard Field Airport in the mid-1940's and assigned the IATA code ORD. In 1949, it was renamed after aviator <a href="/facts/Edward_O%2527Hare/DwMdUEnC">Edward "Butch" O'Hare</a>, the U.S. Navy's first <a href="/facts/Medal_of_Honor/aCKrPP3N">Medal of Honor</a> recipient during that war. 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, <a href="/facts/Jet_bridge/2SBRUpdJ">jet bridges</a>, and underground refueling systems.
O'Hare became famous during the jet age, holding the distinction as the <a href="/facts/World%2527s_busiest_airports_by_passenger_traffic/RC2ySbmH">world's busiest airport by passenger traffic</a> from 1963 to 1998. It still ranks as one of the busiest airports in the world, according to the <a href="/facts/Airports_Council_International/2lxcFLUU">Airports Council International</a> rankings. 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. On the ground, road access to the airport is offered by airport shuttle, bus, the <a href="/facts/Chicago_%2522L%2522/wNUsQHDm">Chicago "L"</a>, or taxis. <a href="/facts/Interstate_190_(Illinois)/8sSETNrK">Interstate 190</a> (<a href="/facts/Kennedy_Expressway/S1d1jmVr">Kennedy Expressway</a>) goes directly into the airport. O'Hare is a <a href="/facts/Airline_hub/stLrrtXj">hub</a> for <a href="/facts/American_Airlines/lpwGQXER">American Airlines</a> and <a href="/facts/United_Airlines/0tCTdbNh">United Airlines</a> (which is headquartered in <a href="/facts/Willis_Tower/0oukJxzA">Willis Tower</a>), as well as an operating base for <a href="/facts/Frontier_Airlines/Q3BPsIff">Frontier Airlines</a> and <a href="/facts/Spirit_Airlines/pMR4htC4">Spirit Airlines</a>.

O'Hare International Airport open-in-new

O'Hare International Airport