Dear Traveler:
 

On behalf of the Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA), welcome to O’Hare and Midway International Airports. Lots of exciting changes are happening at Chicago’s airports, and we’re happy you’re here to see them firsthand!
 

This January, the CDA joined Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot to celebrate the grand opening of the expanded and modernized Terminal 5 at O’Hare, the culmination of a $1.2 billion investment to improve the passenger experience and accommodate future growth.
 

Since work began in 2019, the Terminal 5 project has added 10 new gates, increased passenger amenity space by 85%, expanded security checkpoints, reconfigured the immigration and customs screening areas, and replaced the 25-year-old baggage handling system to enhance efficiencies. Last October, Delta Air Lines moved from its longtime home in Terminal 2 to newly modernized gates in Terminal 5 and opened a new Delta Sky Club lounge.
 

Construction is also underway on a new, six-story parking garage to replace Terminal 5’s surface Parking Lot D, with work expected to be finished next year.

There’s even more exciting work ahead as we move forward with other projects under O’Hare 21, the City’s vision of an efficient, modernized global hub that will meet the needs of the traveling public through the 21st century and beyond.
 

The cornerstone of O’Hare 21 is the Terminal Area Plan (TAP), which will replace the 60-year-old Terminal 2 with a new O’Hare Global Terminal and also includes the construction of two new Satellite Concourses to accommodate growing demand for gate and amenity space as passenger volume continues to increase. Last November, a federal environmental review concluded, clearing the way for construction on the satellite concourses to start this year.
 

The Midway Modernization Program is also nearing completion. With updates to the parking garage and the new security pavilion complete, the final phases of the concessions redevelopment at Chicago’s first airport are expected to open over the next year. An airport outpost of local favorite Big Bowl opened at Midway in late 2022, and Garrett’s Popcorn opened its first location at Midway earlier this year.
 

Thank you for reading, and for choosing to fly to O’Hare and Midway. We hope to see you back again soon.
 

Sincerely,
Jamie L. Rhee
Commissioner
Chicago Department of Aviation