Chicago O'Hare International Airport - Chicago, IL - Airports on Waymarking.com

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It is operated by the City of Chicago Department of Aviation, associated with an umbrella regional authority.

Prior to 2005, O'Hare was the world's busiest airport in terms of takeoffs and landings. That year, mainly due to limits imposed by the federal government to reduce flight delays at O'Hare, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport became the busiest. In 2006 O'Hare took the title back from Atlanta. O'Hare currently accounts for over a sixth of the nation's total flight cancellations. O'Hare also has a strong international presence, with flights to more than 60 foreign destinations. O'Hare was ranked fourth in 2005 of the United States' international gateways, with only John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, Los Angeles International Airport, and Miami International Airport serving more foreign destinations. O’Hare International Airport was voted the Best Airport in North America for the year 2003 by readers of the U.S. Edition of Business Traveler Magazine, marking six years in a row O'Hare has earned top honor.

Although O'Hare is Chicago's chief airport, Midway Airport, Chicago's secondary airport, is narrowly closer to the Loop, Chicago's main business and financial district.

The airport was constructed in 1942-43 as a manufacturing plant for Douglas C-54s during World War II. The site was chosen for its proximity to the city and transportation. The two million square-foot (180,000 m²) 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/Douglas Field. The facility was also the site of the Army Air Force's 803 Special Depot, which stored many rare or experimental planes, including captured enemy aircraft. These historic aircraft would later be transferred to the National Air Museum, going on to form the core of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum's collection.

Douglas Aircraft Company's contract ended in 1945, and though plans were proposed to build commercial aircraft, the company ultimately chose to concentrate production on the west coast. With the departure of Douglas, the airport took the name Orchard Field Airport. In 1945, the facility was chosen by the City of Chicago as the site for a facility to meet future aviation demands. Though its familiar three-letter IATA code ORD still reflects the early identity of the airport, it was renamed in 1949 after Lt. Cmdr. Edward "Butch" O'Hare, a World War II flying ace who was awarded the Medal of Honor.

By the early 1950s, Midway Airport, which had been the primary Chicago airport since 1931, had become too small and crowded despite multiple expansions and was unable to handle the planned first generation of jets. The City of Chicago and FAA began to develop O'Hare as the main airport for Chicago's future. 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 of O'Hare. The arrival of Midway's former traffic instantly made O'Hare the new World's Busiest Airport, serving 10 million passengers annually. Within two years that number would double, with more people passing through O'Hare in 12 months than Ellis Island had processed in its entire existence. In 1997, annual passenger volume was 70 million.

O'Hare Airport is municipally connected to the city of Chicago via a narrow strip of land under the Kennedy Expressway. This land was added to the city limits in the 1950s to assure the airport was contiguous with the city to keep it under city control. The land was condemned then annexed instantly by the city before surrounding suburbs even knew what happened to keep them from interfering with the city's plans for growth at the airport. The CTA Blue Line was extended to the airport in the 1980s.

Type: International ICAO Airport Code: KORD IATA Airport Code: ORD FAA Identifier: ORD

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