O'Hare Airport Has a Website!

About Chicago O'Hare Airport, ORD O'Hare International Airport is the second busiest airport in both the United States and the world. In 2008 the airport had 881,566 aircraft operations, an average of 2,409 per day. It is the largest hub of United Airlines (whose headquarters are in downtown Chicago) and the second-largest hub of American Airlines. It is operated by the City of Chicago Department of Aviation, associated with an umbrella regional authority. In 2007 O'Hare International Airport won the Global Traveler Award for Best Airport in North America. O'Hare International Airport was voted the "Best Airport in North America" for 10 years by readers of the U.S. Edition of Business Traveler Magazine (1998 - 2003) and Global Traveler Magazine (2004 - 2007). Brief History The airport was constructed between 1942 and 1943 as a manufacturing plant for Douglas C-54s during World War II. The two million square-foot 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 pre-existing community in the area and the airport was known during the war as Orchard Place Airport (hence the location identifier ORD). Douglas Aircraft Company's contract ended in 1945 and the facility was chosen by the City of Chicago to meet future aviation demands. Though its familiar three-letter code ORD still reflects the early identity of the airport, it was renamed in 1949, after Lieutenant Commander Edward "Butch" O'Hare, a World War II flying ace. The first commercial passenger flights were started there in 1955 and an international terminal was built in 1958, but the majority of domestic traffic did not move from Midway until completion of a 1962 expansion at O'Hare. The arrival of Midway's former traffic instantly made O'Hare the new World's Busiest Airport, serving 10 million passengers annually. In 1997, annual passenger volume reached 70 million; it is now approaching 80 million. Modernization plan O'Hare's high volume and crowded schedule can lead to long delays and cancellations that, due to the airport being a major hub, can affect air travel across the United States. In 2004, United Airlines and American Airlines agreed to modify their schedules to help reduce congestion caused by clustered arrivals and departures. City management has committed to a $6 billion capital investment plan to increase the airport's capacity by 60% and decrease delays by an estimated 79%. Four runways will be added and two decommissioned in order to give the airfield an eight-runway parallel 6+2 configuration similar to that in Dallas. This plan was very controversial as the added improvements can increase the air traffic only slightly with the FAA rules. The Modernization Plan is now under construction, and an additional runway and Air Traffic Control Tower were commissioned on November 20, 2008. Design efforts are underway for the remainder of the program, which includes three runway projects, a new western terminal complex and an automated people mover system. The O'Hare Modernization Program has submitted an application to the Federal Aviation Administration to use approximately $180 million in Passenger Facility Charges to fund design work, which will begin in early 2009.

We are proud to announce the launch of the new Chicago O'Hare International Airport website www.ohare-airport.org. It provides comprehensive real time flight information on arrivals, departures and delays, terminals and maps, parking, transportation, directions, food and shopping, hotels, etc.