Home
Chicago O'Hare Airport
Chicago O'Hare Airport
|
Chicago O'Hare Airport
|
Chicago O'Hare Airport
|
Chicago O'Hare Airport...
Chicago O'Hare International Airport is an airport located in Chicago, Illinois, 17 miles (27 km) northwest of the
Chicago Loop. O'Hare International Airport is the largest hub of United Airlines(whose
headquarters will soon move from nearby Elk Grove Township to
downtown Chicago) and the second-largest
hub of American Airlines (after Dallas/Fort Worth).
O'Hare International Airport is operated by the City
of Chicago Department of Aviation, associated with an umbrella regional
authority.
Chicago O'Hare International Airport rivals Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport as the world’s busiest airport.
However in 2005, Hartsfield overtook O'Hare International Airport as the world's busiest airport in terms
of takeoffs and landings. This was mainly due to the federal government
imposing flight caps at O'Hare to reduce flight delays.
For the first half of 2006, Chicago O'Hare International Airport was the busiest airport. In terms of
total passengers served, Hartsfield has held the title of world's
busiest airport for 8 years now, but Chicago also
has commercial air traffic to Midway Airport. If Midway did not exist, O'Hare International Airport would be the busier airport over Hartsfield. O'Hare International Airport also has a strong international
presence with flights to more than 60 foreign destinations.
O'Hare International Airport ranks fourth in the nation's international gateways;
only JFK International Airport in New York City,
LAX in Los Angeles and Miami International Airport serve 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.
Chicago O'Hare International Airport was constructed in 1942-43 as a manufacturing
plant for Douglas C-54s during WWII. 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 WWII 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 International Airport 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 International Airport 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 International Airport in 12 months than Ellis Island had processed in its entire existence. In
1997, annual passenger volume was 70 million.
O'Hare
Field is physically 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
1950's to assure the airport was contiguous with the city to keep
it under city control. In one of the most famous land grabs in history,
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. A rapid transit
rail line was extended to the airport in the 1980s.
Chicago O'Hare International Airport’s high volume and crowded schedule can lead
to cancellations and long delays that affect air travel across the United
States. Official reports rank O'Hare International Airport as the least punctual airport in the United
States based on percentage of delayed
flights. United Airlines and American Airlines have recently agreed
to modify their schedules to help reduce congestion caused by clustered
arrivals and departures. Because of the air traffic departing, arriving,
and near the airport, the air traffic controllers at O'Hare and its
nearby facilities are some of the hardest working in the world in
terms of number of controlled flights per hour.
City
management has committed to a $6 billion capital investment plan
to increase the airport's capacity and decrease delays by an estimated
79 percent. This plan was approved by the FAA in October 2005 and
will involve a reconfiguration of the airfield and addition of terminal
space. Four runways will be added and three decommissioned in order
to give the airfield an eight-runway parallel configuration similar
to those in Dallas.
Terminals 3 and 5 will undergo expansion, and a new west
terminal is planned with western access into the airport; however,
some land acquisition is necessary, requiring approximately 2,800
residents to be relocated. The program will expand the airport's
capacity to over 3,800 operations per day, up from the present capacity
of 2,700 and will vastly increase passenger throughput capacity.
London Now - London car rentals
London Now - London hotels
London Now - London bed and breakfasts
London Now - London restaurants eat well
Da Vinci Code Tours - London, Paris and Rosslyn Chapel Edinburgh
Da Vinci Code Tours Edinburgh budget accommodation
The Corvette - America's Ultimate Sports Car
Edinburgh Dentists - cosmetic dentistry in Scotland
Edinburgh budget accommodation
Edinburgh Solicitors Property Centre - Property for sale in Edinburgh
Home Owners Loans - loans
Visit london - London hotels, Llondon entertainment... and
more
Vonage Phones -
Broadband telephone
Vonage Telephone -
Make calls over broadband
International Hotels
Harley Street
Medical Group - Cosmetic surgery and plastic surgery experts
Harley
Street Specialists - Information on Harley Street specialists
Cosmetic Breast
Surgery - Breast Enlargment and enhancment
Edinburgh Bed and Breakfast - B&B accommodation in Edinburgh
Maria Sharapova
- lots of Sharapova pictures here.
chicago o'hare delayed flights, flights at chicago ohare, chicago continental
gate, world destinations from chicago o'hare, chicago ohare departure
warsaw, ohare international to belfast international, o'hare 1955 international
terminal, o'hare passengers per day capacity , runways chicago
o'hare, map chicago o'hare field
website, chicago edward "butch",
o'hare, chicago o'hare arrival departure ottawa
The International Airport website is brought to you by Edinburgh Media
who gave you Edinburgh
Castle (www.edinburghcastle.biz) and many more.
|
