Midway International Airport

| timezone = CST

| utc = UTC−06:00

| summer = CDT

| utcs = UTC−05:00

| elevation-f = 620

| publictransit = , CTA Bus, Pace Bus, River Valley Metro at Midway

| website =

| coordinates =

| image_map = Midway Airport FAA Diagram.png

| image_map_caption = FAA airport diagram

| mapframe = yes

| mapframe-zoom = 9

| mapframe-wikidata = yes

| r1-number = 4L/22R

| r1-length-f = 5,507

| r1-surface = Concrete

| r2-number = 4R/22L

| r2-length-f = 6,445

| r2-surface = Asphalt concrete

| r3-number = 13L/31R

| r3-length-f = 6,522

| r3-surface = Concrete

| r5-number = 13R/31L

| r5-length-f = 3,859

| r5-surface = Asphalt concrete

| stat-year = 2025

| stat1-header = Aircraft operations

| stat1-data = 210,930

| stat2-header = Passenger volume

| stat2-data = 19,379,940

| stat3-header = Cargo tonnage (metric tons)

| stat3-data = 13,529.0

| footnotes = Source: FAA Midway International Airport

Chicago Midway International Airport is a major commercial airport on the southwest side of Chicago, Illinois, located approximately 12 miles (19 km) from the city's Loop business district, and divided between the city's Clearing and Garfield Ridge communities. Established in 1927, Midway served as Chicago's primary airport until the opening of O'Hare International Airport in 1944. Midway is the second-busiest airport in both the Chicago metropolitan area and the state of Illinois, serving 22,050,489 passengers in 2023.

Midway is a base for Southwest Airlines, which carries over 90% of the passengers at the airport. The airport was named in honor of the Battle of Midway. The defunct Midway Airlines, once headquartered at Midway, took its name from the airport. The airfield is located in a square mile bounded by 55th and 63rd Streets, Central and Cicero Avenues. The terminal complex was completed in 2001. The terminal bridges Cicero Avenue and contains 43 gates with facilities for international passengers. The CTA rapid transit Orange Line provides transit to Downtown Chicago, where it connects with other subway/elevated rapid transit lines.

History

thumb|Sculpture at Chicago–Midway

thumb|[[Douglas SBD Dauntless on static display as part of the Midway memorial]]

Early history (1923–1962)

Originally named Chicago Air Park, Midway Airport was built on a plot in 1923 with one cinder runway mainly for airmail flights. In 1926, the city leased the airport and on December 12, 1927 named it Chicago Municipal Airport. By 1928, the airport had twelve hangars and four runways, which were lit up for night operations.

thumb|right|The Chicago area, featuring Chicago Midway and [[O'Hare International Airport|O'Hare International Airports]]

In 1931, a new passenger terminal opened at 62nd St; (The July 1932 Official Aviation Guide (OAG) shows 206 scheduled airline departures a week.)

More construction was funded in part by $1 million from the Works Progress Administration; the airport expanded to fill the square mile in 1938–41 after a court ordered the Chicago and Western Indiana Railroad to reroute tracks that had crossed the square along the northern edge of the older field.

The March 1939 OAG shows 47 weekday departures: 13 on United, 13 American, 9 TWA, 4 Northwest, and two each on Eastern, Braniff, Pennsylvania Central, and C&S. New York's airport (Newark, then LaGuardia by the end of 1939) was then the busiest airline airport in the United States, but Midway passed LaGuardia in 1948 and kept the title until 1960. The diagram on the January 1951 C&GS approach chart shows four parallel pairs of runways, all or less, except for the runway 13R (current runway 13C) and the runway 4R.

The April 1957 OAG shows 414 weekday fixed-wing departures from Midway: 83 American, 83 United, 56 TWA, 40 Capital, 35 North Central, 28 Delta, 27 Eastern, 22 Northwest, 19 Ozark, 11 Braniff, 5 Trans-Canada, and 5 Lake Central. Air France, Lufthansa, and REAL (of Brazil) had a few flights per week.

Midway, being surrounded by buildings on all sides, meant that the airport was unable to expand; its runways were too short to safely handle larger four-engine jetliners (the Boeing 707 and the Douglas DC-8) that appeared in 1959. Instead, Chicago jet flights were directed to use O'Hare, which had opened to airlines in 1955. Lighter aircraft like turboprops Lockheed L-188 Electra's and Vickers Viscounts could have continued to fly out of Midway, but O'Hare's new terminal opened in 1962, allowing airlines to consolidate their flights. From July 1962 until July 1964 when United returned, Midway's only scheduled airline was Chicago Helicopter. In August 1966, a total of four fixed-wing arrivals were scheduled, all United 727s (United was alone at Midway until early 1968).

Post-O'Hare reconstruction (1963–1993)

By 1967, reconstruction began at the airport, adding three new concourses with 28 gates and three ticket counters, on smaller-capacity, shorter range twin-jet and trijet airliners such as the McDonnell Douglas DC-9, BAC One-Eleven, Boeing 727, and Boeing 737 that could use Midway's runways, which the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8 could not.

In 1982, the city of Chicago purchased Midway Airport from the Chicago Board of Education for $16 million. Three years later, Southwest Airlines began operations at Midway. Midway was a focus city for Vanguard Airlines from 1997 to 2000.

The Carlton Midway Inn moved to allow the Chicago Transit Authority to create a new CTA terminal at the airport on Halloween of 1993. This development helped launch the Chicago 'L' Orange Line, connecting Midway to the Loop. The Midway Airport parking garage opened in 1999, bringing covered parking to the airport for the first time. The garage is connected to the Midway terminal building for convenient access to ticket counters and baggage claim areas.

In June 2004, Mayor Daley and airline officials celebrated the completion of the Terminal Development Program. resulted in the addition of 14 gates (from 29 to 43). However, after the airline declared bankruptcy in October 2004, scheduled service from Midway significantly decreased.

For over 16 years, Midway had been the main hub for Indianapolis-based ATA, but the airline announced in March 2008 that it would end all flights from Midway on June 7, 2008. Before this, ATA had filed for bankruptcy on April 2, 2008, and ceased all flights the following day.

In November 2008, Porter Airlines, which flies between Midway and Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, was the only international route served from Chicago–Midway after ATA Airlines, which had flights to Mexico, ceased operations in April that year. On December 13, 2010, a second carrier, Volaris, began flights between Guadalajara and Midway.

Starting in early 2009, a construction project added a new walkway and food court to Concourse A. The project also connected gates A4A and A4B to the main A concourse. Expansions were completed in the spring of 2010.

Privatization attempts

Chicago has considered privatizing the airport, but the deals fell through in 2009 and 2013.

On April 20, 2009, a $2.5 billion deal to privatize the airport via a 99-year lease fell through, when the consortium could not put together financing. The city would have kept $125 million in the down payment. The consortium operating under the name of Midway Investment and Development Company LLC consisted of Vancouver Airport Services, Citi Infrastructure Investors, and Boston's John Hancock Life Insurance. It was awarded the contract in October 2008 by the City Council, which voted 49–0 in approval to it. The consortium would have operated the airport and collected airport parking, concession, and passenger facility charges. However, Chicago would have continued to provide fire and police services.

In September 2013, Mayor Rahm Emanuel terminated new negotiations to privatize the airport, noting that the process was no longer competitive after one of the two finalists had backed out. The one remaining was Great Lakes Airport Alliance – a partnership of Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets and Ferrovial. Macquarie was one of the investors in the Chicago Skyway. The group that backed out was a group that included the Australia-based Industry Funds Management and Manchester Airports Group. The Great Lakes proposal had been valued at $2 billion and would have involved a 40-year lease.

Modernization program

Construction began on expansions of the security checkpoint and main parking garage. The bridge spanning Cicero Ave was widened from to over , allowing up to 17 security lanes and a streamlined queue. Because the current terminal opened just a few months prior to the September 11th attacks, the security area was quickly rendered too small for the new screening measures and was subsequently forced to expand inward, taking away from space in the concourses. The space that was reclaimed by moving security outward into the bridge will be redeveloped with an expansion of the central food court. The main parking garage was extended eastward over the CTA L tracks to add 1,500 spaces and to streamline the entrance way. and has four active runways:

13L/31R: , air carrier runway, ILS-equipped
4R/22L: , air carrier runway, ILS-equipped
4L/22R: , general aviation and air taxi
13R/31L: , light aircraft only

Midway is surrounded by buildings and other development, so the landing thresholds of the runways are displaced to provide obstacle clearance. The FAA and the airlines ensure safety by adhering to calculated load limits and various weather minimums. Because of the displaced landing thresholds, the runways have shorter distances available for landings than for takeoffs. 13L/31R, the longest runway in Midway, only has an available landing distance of in the southeast direction, and to the northwest. The largest aircraft normally seen at Midway is the Boeing 757. Normally, commercial planes only take off from, and land on, runways 4R/22L and 13L/31R. The other runways are used by smaller aircraft and, per the US FAA Chart Supplement, are restricted from use by large commercial aircraft, except for emergencies. Former runway 13L/31R was permanently closed after 82 years on August 9, 2023, and was converted to Taxiway H.

Terminal

Midway has 43 aircraft gates on three concourses.

Concourse A has 17 gates. Destin/Fort Walton Beach, Knoxville, Punta Gorda (FL) Seasonal: Provo

| Delta Air Lines | Atlanta

| Delta Connection | Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul

| Frontier Airlines | Atlanta, Cancún, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston–Intercontinental, Miami, Newark, Orlando,

| | Albany, Albuquerque, Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Birmingham (AL), Boston, Buffalo, Burbank, Charleston (SC), Charlotte, Cleveland, Columbus–Glenn, Dallas–Love, Des Moines, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Houston–Hobby, Jacksonville (FL), Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Louisville, Memphis, Miami, Milwaukee, Myrtle Beach, Nashville, New York–LaGuardia, Norfolk, Oakland, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Ontario, Orlando, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Punta Cana, Raleigh/Durham, Richmond, Rochester (NY), Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, Sarasota, Seattle/Tacoma, St. Louis, Tampa, Tulsa, Washington–National, Bozeman, El Paso, Palm Springs, Panama City (FL), Portland (ME), San José del Cabo, San Juan, Spokane

| Volaris |Aguascalientes, Durango, Guadalajara, León/Del Bajío, Morelia, San Luis Potosí (begins June 2, 2026), Zacatecas

Ground transportation

thumb|[[Orange Line (CTA)|Orange Line trains at Midway station]]

The airport terminal is connected by a walkway to Midway station. The station serves as a major local bus station for Chicago Transit Authority buses, and is the western terminus of the Chicago "L" Orange Line. The Orange Line connects the airport to The Loop in the city center, with a travel time of approximately 30 minutes. Midway station is also served by suburban bus operator Pace, and River Valley Metro operates regional services to Manteno and Bourbonnais in Kankakee County.

Statistics

Top destinations

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 95%"

|+ Busiest domestic routes from MDW (January–December 2025)

! Rank

! City

! Passengers

! Carriers

| 1

| Atlanta, Georgia

| 413,270

| Delta, Frontier, Southwest

| 2

| Phoenix–Sky Harbor, Arizona

| 388,200

| Frontier, Southwest

| 3

| Orlando, Florida

| 386,890

| Frontier, Southwest

| 4

| Las Vegas, Nevada

| 362,310

| Frontier, Southwest

| 5

| Denver, Colorado

| 350,040

| Frontier, Southwest

| 6

| New York–LaGuardia, New York

| 313,960

| Southwest

| 7

| Dallas–Love, Texas

| 277,330

| Southwest

| 8

| Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota

| 259,180

| Delta, Southwest

| 9

| Houston–Hobby, Texas

| 252,650

| Southwest

| 10

| Kansas City, Missouri

| 232,640

| Southwest

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 95%"

! Rank

! Airport

! Passengers

! Carriers

| 1

| Cancún, Mexico

| 142,177

| Frontier, Southwest

| 2

| Morelia, Mexico

| 139,406

| Volaris

| 3

| Guadalajara, Mexico

| 98,744

| Volaris

| 4

| Toronto–Billy Bishop, Canada

| 81,196

| Porter

| 5

| León/Del Bajío, Mexico

| 75,826

| Volaris

| 6

| Aguascalientes, Mexico

| 72,918

| Volaris

| 7

| Zacatecas, Mexico

| 45,336

| Volaris

| 8

| Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

| 43,426

| Southwest

| 9

| Durango, Mexico

| 39,307

| Volaris

| 10

| Montego Bay, Jamaica

| 38,592

| Southwest

| 11

| Chicago, Illinois

| 67,420

| Delta

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%"

|+Top airlines at MDW (January–December 2025)

! Year !! Passengers !! Year !! Passengers

| 2000||15,672,688||2016|| 22,677,589

| 2001|| 15,628,886||2017|| 22,460,236

| 2002|| 16,959,229||2018|| 22,027,737

| 2003|| 18,644,372||2019|| 20,844,860

| 2004|| 19,718,236||2020|| 8,853,948

| 2005|| 17,862,838||2021|| 15,893,595

| 2006|| 18,868,388||2022|| 19,916,643

| 2007|| 19,378,855||2023|| 22,050,489

| 2008|| 17,345,635||2024|| 21,513,521

| 2009|| 17,089,365||2025|| 19,379,940

| 2010|| 17,676,413||2026||

| 2011|| 18,883,170||2027||

| 2012|| 19,516,127||2028||

| 2013|| 20,474,552||2029||

| 2015|| 22,221,499||2030||

Annual traffic

Accidents and incidents

On December 8, 1972, United Air Lines Flight 553, a Boeing 737-200, crashed into a residential area outside Midway during landing. The crash of the 737-200 killed 43 of the 61 on board, and two on the ground. One of the victims on the plane was Dorothy Hunt, the wife of Watergate conspirator E. Howard Hunt. She was carrying $10,000 in cash. James McCord alleged that she supplied the Watergate defendants with money for legal expenses.

Thirty-three years later, on December 8, 2005, Southwest Airlines Flight 1248, a Boeing 737-700 inbound from Baltimore–Washington International Airport in Baltimore, Maryland, slid off the runway while attempting to land at the airport in a heavy snow storm.

{|class="wikitable"

|+ List of all major incidents at MDW

! style="width:60px;"|Date!!Registration!!Aircraft type!!Carrier!!Location!!Summary

|May 31, 1936||NC14979||DC-2||Trans World Airlines||-||On approach to the west airstrip (later designated Runway 27L), 1 engine out, strong gusts, crashed half a mile east of field. All survived.

|December 4, 1940||NC25678||DC-3A||United Airlines||6356 S. Keating Ave.||Pilot lost sight in bad weather and crashed on landing approach resulting in ten deaths.

|May 20, 1943||42–7053||B-24E||U.S. Army Air Force||3625 W. 73rd St.||On approach, disoriented in bad weather, hit huge gas storage tank southeast. 12 fatalities on plane and ground.

| ||NC19939||DC-3||Trans World Airlines||West of 96th Ave. at 97th St.||Midair collision with Boeing PT-17, which crashed, killing two. The DC-3 limped in to Midway.

|July 2, 1946||NC28383||DC-3||Trans World Airlines||-||Crashed northeast of field. All survived.

|March 10, 1948||NC37478||DC-4||Delta Air Lines||5000 W. 55th St.||Plane took off on 36R, at went vertical, at nosed over, crashed on 55th St. 12 fatalities.

|March 26, 1949||NC90736||DC-6||American Airlines||-||Hit power lines on approach. All survived.

|December 8, 1949||NC86501||L-049||Trans World Airlines||-||Landing too far down (then designated) 13R, crashed through fence, ended up at 63rd and Cicero. All survived.

|January 4, 1951||N79982||C-46||Monarch Airlines||-||Overloaded taking off on (then designated) 31L, could not climb, crashed on railroad tracks one half-mile northeast. All survived.

|September 16, 1951||N74689||C-46||Peninsula Transport||-||Belly-landed away at northeast 63rd and Harlem. All survived.

|March 3, 1953||N6214C||L-1049||Eastern Airlines||On field||Landed on (then designated) 31L, gear collapsed, skidded southwest toward Hale School. All survived.

|July 17, 1955||N3422||Convair 340||Braniff International Airways||On field||Hit gas station sign on approach to (then designated) 13R, flipped over, crashed. 22 fatalities.

|August 5, 1955||N74601||Boeing 377||Northwest Airlines||-||Landed on (then designated) 31L, could not stop, crashed through fence at 55th and Central. All survived.

|February 20, 1956||N7404||Vickers Viscount||Capitol||On field||Landing on 31R, plane flopped in short of threshold. All survived.

|March 15, 1959||N94273||Convair 240||American Airlines||-||Lost sight of (then designated) 31L on approach, crashed in railroad yard one half-mile south of field. All survived.

| ||N102R||L-1049H||Trans World Airlines||Came to rest 63rd and Kilpatrick||Plane departed (then designated) 31L, fire on engine No. 2, circled to land 31L, crashed southeast of field. All three persons aboard were killed, along with eight more on the ground.

|September 1, 1961||N86511||L-049||Trans World Airlines||-||Plane departed Midway, lost elevator bolt, crashed near Hinsdale, Illinois, resulting in 78 deaths.

|December 8, 1972||N9031U||737-200||United Airlines||71st and Springfield||Aircraft descended too low on approach to 31L (now 31C) and struck houses, crashed southeast of airport, causing 43 fatalities aboard the aircraft and two on the ground.

|March 25, 1976||N1EM||Lockheed Jetstar||Executive||On field||Pilot unfamiliar with plane attempted take off on 13R (now 13C), never became airborne, crashed into fence 63rd and Cicero. Four fatalities.

|August 6, 1976||N9446Z||TB-25N||Air Chicago||61st and Moody Avenue||Poor maintenance, and first flight of the plane in two years. It took off 4L, lost engine 2, and crashed west of field, killing two aboard and one on the ground.

|December 8, 2005||N471WN||737-700||Southwest Airlines||55th & Central||Landed 31C during a snowstorm, crashed through a fence, hit 2 cars, killed a child in car on 55th St. and Central Ave.

Source: Civil Aeronautics Board archives, NTSB records.

Note: Prior to 1941, the runways did not have numerical designations. The runway now designated 13C/31C was designated 13R/31L from 1941 until 1989, when a new Runway 13R/31L was built. Runways 27L, 27R, 36L and 36R were closed by 1973.

References

External links

Midway: Terminal and Concourse Maps
TWA Crash of 1959
1972 Crash Summary
Early Midway images
Airport diagram for 1959

Midway International Airport

History

Early history (1923–1962)

Post-O'Hare reconstruction (1963–1993)

Privatization attempts

Modernization program

Terminal

Ground transportation

Statistics

Top destinations

Annual traffic

Accidents and incidents

See also

References

Further reading

External links

History

Early history (1923–1962)

Post-O'Hare reconstruction (1963–1993)

Privatization attempts

Modernization program

Terminal

Ground transportation

Statistics

Top destinations

Airline market share

Annual traffic

Accidents and incidents

See also

References

Further reading

External links