Chicago OHare International Airport Arrivals (ORD)

Chicago O’Hare International Airport handles over sixty million passengers every year, and is therefore one of the largest and most important air gateways to the United States of America. It is also rated as the second busiest airport in the world for aircraft movements, the third busiest airport in the world in terms of passenger traffic and has been voted as ‘Best North American Airport’ by a few independent sources for ten consecutive years. The Chicago O’Hare International Airport arrival areas are welcoming for tourists and business professionals, and have all the facilities that are required. Arriving passengers have access to buses, trains and taxis from the airport as well, and can therefore easily move on to their following destination.

Chicago O’Hare International Airport flights arrive from a wide variety of worldwide locations. Many flights are available from Canadian airports, such as Toronto-Pearson, Montreal, Halifax, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Calgary, Winnipeg and Ottawa, as well as from other international locations, for example, Germany, London, Japan, China, Mexico and France. The busiest international routes served from Chicago O’Hare International Airport include London-Heathrow in the United Kingdom, Frankfurt in Germany, Toronto in Canada, Tokyo in Japan, Cancun in Mexico, Paris-Charles de Gaulle in France, Montreal in Canada and Munich in Germany. The airport handles large numbers of domestic travellers as well, arriving from cities that include San Francisco, Seattle, Denver, Minneapolis, Washington, Philadelphia, Atlanta, New Orleans, Detroit, Dallas/Fort Worth, Las Vegas, Nashville, Salt Lake City, New York, Cincinnati, Boston, Kansas City, Indianapolis, Miami, Houston, Oklahoma and Los Angeles. Some of the busiest domestic routes include those to New York-LaGuardia, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Dallas/Fort Worth.

Chicago O’Hare International Airport is a hub for the airline carriers of American Airlines and United Airlines, which makes it the only dual-hub airport in America. These two airline companies carry the majority of the airport’s passengers, and offer the largest variety of destinations from the airport. Additional airline carriers of the airport include Air Canada, WestJet, US Airways, Virgin America, Virgin Atlantic Airways, Aer Lingus, Air France, Alitalia C.A.I., British Airways, Delta Air Lines, Iberia Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways, American Eagle, Etihad Airways, Lufthansa, Mexicana, SkyWest Airlines, KLM Dutch Royal, Turkish Airlines and SWISS.

Chicago O’Hare Airport passengers could arrive at any one of four terminal buildings. The terminal of their arrival will mainly depend on the airline company with which they are flying, and sometimes the type of flight that they are on, for example, domestic or international. The terminals of the airport are known as Terminal 1, Terminal 2, Terminal 3 and Terminal 5. There is no Terminal 4. The area that used to be used as Terminal 4 before the new Terminal 5 was built is now a central facility for ground transportation. Terminal 1 is where many United Airline flights arrive, Terminal 2 is the facility for US Airways, Delta Air Lines and many United Express flights and Terminal 3 is the hub facility for American Airlines. The majority of the airport’s international flights arrive at Terminal 5, except for those from airports that are equipped with U.S. border preclearance facilities. Each terminal, besides Terminal 5, have a few concourses, which are used for various airline companies and airport functions.

Terminal 5 is the more remote terminal of the airport complex, and is connected to the other three terminals by the ATS, or Airport Transit System. This airport train covers a distance of 2.7 miles, and is an automated people mover system. It is available free of charge to all airport passengers and visitors, and operates twenty-four hours a day. The ATS also provides transport for passengers from the terminals to the more remote car parks of the airport. There is seldom the need to transfer to another terminal in order to find airport facilities, as each terminal is well equipped with its own shops, restaurants, banking services and restrooms, but if a passenger has a connecting flight from another terminal, the ATS may need to be used. Arriving passengers on longer stay-overs will find several hotels in the nearby vicinity, including the Chicago O’Hare Hotel on North Mannheim Road, the Hilton Chicago O’Hare Airport ORD Hotel at the airport, the Hyatt Regency O’Hare in Rosemont and the Crowne Plaza Chicago O’Hare Airport Hotel on North River Road. These hotels are all within three miles of the airport, and may offer complimentary shuttles from the terminals.

All of the Chicago O’Hare Airport terminals are accessible to disabled passengers. Wheelchairs can be manoeuvred through all parts of the airport, as there are elevators, accessible restrooms and pavement ramps, and special parking facilities are available. The ATS can be used by persons with reduced mobility as well, and wheelchair accessible taxicabs can be arranged.

Arriving passengers have access to a number of ground transport options, which can take them to the city of Chicago, and to various surrounding areas. The ‘L’ CTA Blue Line trains are one of the quickest and most convenient ways to reach the city. They depart frequently from the airport station, on the lower level of the concourse that connects Terminals 1, 2 and 3. Several airport bus services are available as well, with the PACE bus from the Kiss ‘n’ Fly parking lot as the most affordable. Taxis are available from outside the lower levels (arrival areas) of each terminal building. Passengers may also rent a car from one of the Chicago O’Hare International Airport car hire companies.

Persons who are collecting arriving passengers from the airport can use the Cell Phone Parking Lot for free whilst waiting for the arrival flight. The passenger can then be collected from in front of their arrival terminal. Further details regarding Chicago O’Hare International Airport arrival flights can be obtained from the airport, telephone number 1-773-686-2200, or live arrival flights can be viewed online. At the airport, various information desks are available, and airport volunteers circulate the terminals.