Airport Guide

History of Chicago O'Hare International Airport

With Chicago then boasting the second biggest population in the whole of the United States, the city was chosen as the site for the manufacturing of the Douglas C-54 transporter for the in the Second World War. Thus the Orchard Place Airport was born in 1942, named after the small community nearby. While military operations finished with the end of the conflict, the connection still remains as the civilian airport was named after Air Force hero Edward 'Butch' O'Hare in 1949, just prior to the boom of the 1950s.

By 1962, O'Hare had become the world's busiest airport, with 10 million passengers passing through annually, though this quickly doubled just two years later.

Over the years, additional terminals have been constructed to cope with rising demand, with a peak of 1,000 daily flights being handled in 1994, though plans are currently in place to invest a further £3 billion in increasing capacity by as much as 60 per cent and cut back on the airport's well-publicised delays.

Travelling to Chicago O'Hare International Airport

Geographically, O'Hare is connected to the metropolis of Chicago by a single, narrow strip of land, limiting the options of those travelling to the airport by train or car.

The efficient Kennedy Expressway leads from the east side of the airport into the city centre and from there onto the rest of the state of Illinois and the east of the country, including cities such as New York and Philadelphia.

For those without their own cars, getting to O'Hare is also no problem, with the terminals connected to the blue line of Chicago's famous elevated train system - the 'L' - while normal commuter trains also run from the O'Hare Transfer station to the Airport Transit System via a shuttle bus.

Airlines Flying from Chicago O'Hare International Airport

Chicago O'Hare serves as the largest hub of United Airlines, whose head offices are located in the centre of Chicago, as well as the second largest hub of American Airlines. As such, these two airlines dominate the departure boards, offering shuttles services to all corners of the vast country.

However, O'Hare was also recently ranked fourth in terms of US international gateways for passenger numbers, with hundreds of routes operating every week. Among the many international carriers touching down in Chicago are Air Nippon, Lufthansa, Iberia, Air France, Air Jamaica, KLM, Royal Jordanian, bmi, Alitalia and Virgin Atlantic.