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Chicago's second airport, a Southwest Airlines stronghold.
Opened
1923
Location
Chicago, United States
Chicago Midway International Airport is a major commercial airport located on the southwest side of Chicago, Illinois, approximately 10 miles from the city's downtown Loop district. It is the second-busiest airport in the Chicago metropolitan area, behind O'Hare International Airport.
Midway served as the world's busiest airport for a period in the 1920s and 1930s. Today it is dominated by Southwest Airlines, which uses it as a major hub and accounts for the vast majority of passenger traffic. The airport handles tens of millions of passengers annually and is known for its relatively compact, efficient layout compared to the sprawling O'Hare.
The airport was renamed in 1949 to honor the Battle of Midway, a pivotal naval battle of World War II. A significant modernization and expansion project in the early 2000s upgraded its terminal and concourses substantially.
Terminals
Midway has a single terminal building with two concourses, A and B, connected landside and airside.
Getting to & from
Midway is directly served by the Chicago Transit Authority Orange Line rapid transit, providing a roughly 30-minute ride to downtown Chicago.
Airlines here
Southwest Airlines dominates Midway, accounting for the vast majority of flights, with limited service from a handful of other carriers.
Notable facts
- ›Renamed in 1949 to commemorate the Battle of Midway in World War II.
- ›Was considered the world's busiest airport during much of the 1920s and 1930s.
- ›A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 overran the runway in December 2005, killing one person on the ground.
- ›The airport sits entirely within a dense residential neighborhood on Chicago's southwest side.
- ›A proposed private lease of the airport fell through in 2009 after the winning bidder could not secure financing.
This profile is provided for general information only. Details may be inaccurate or outdated — always verify with the airport's official website before acting on them.
