How to navigate O’Hare ‘tightrope’ through 7-year makeover? DePaul has tips
To avoid seven years of construction dysfunction, O’Hare International Airport needs creative strategies to lessen the impact of a building boom on passengers, a new DePaul University study finds.
The report notes that the city trails behind other U.S. airports in terms of major upgrades and cautions that “O’Hare treads a tightrope” during its ORDNext remake.
ORDNext, expected to take until 2034, includes construction of a Global Terminal, which will replace Terminal 2, and two new concourses.
“O'Hare is an outlier among the top 25 airports in the U.S., and globally, for not building a large new concourse or terminal in the last 25 years,” said aviation expert and DePaul Professor Joseph Schwieterman.
“The next seven years, including busy holiday weekends, will be pretty stressful.”
A Chicago Department of Aviation spokesperson noted, “ORDNext builds on the O'Hare Modernization Program, a 16-year effort completed in 2021 that transformed the airfield into a modern system of eight runways, the most of any commercial airport in the world.
“Minimizing construction impacts on the passenger experience remains central to how CDA plans and delivers ORDNext.”
To ensure construction stays on time, one solution could be modular construction, or building sections of the terminal off-site, DePaul researchers recommended.
Another innovation would be mobile boarding platforms that eliminate having planes taxiing around, the report suggests. The vehicles are essentially battery-powered waiting areas on wheels that take passengers to and from the terminal to their plane.
Portions of Terminal 2 and Terminal 3 date back to 1962, DePaul researchers said, pointing to new terminals at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport that opened in 2012 and 2005, respectively.
Work has started on Concourse D, which will finish in late 2028. The first phase of Concourse E begins later this year and finishes in 2030. Construction of the Global Terminal kicks off in 2029 and should end in 2033. That will trigger the second phase of Concourse E, which should open in 2034.
The key for the Chicago Department of Aviation will be to keep sufficient gates in operation amid competition between American and United airlines to offer more flights, the report said.
United will face the bigger challenge because it relies more heavily on Terminal 2, which will be demolished, the report notes.
Although passenger satisfaction ratings have consistently risen at O’Hare, its 2026 score of 585 falls below the average of 621 in JD Power rankings. The report also notes average taxi times for outbound flights at O’Hare are 28.3 minutes compared to 20.8 minutes at 30 other major airports; inbound flights average 19.8 minutes of taxiing compared to 10.5 minutes elsewhere.
“O'Hare has a great deal of momentum right now, so it is critical that timelines for construction upgrades be met,” Schwieterman said.
The CDA said it is working with the Federal Aviation Administration and airlines to address taxi times and other issues.
The specific recommendations in the report “would require detailed operational and engineering evaluation in consultation with our airline, federal and construction partners,” the agency said.
mpyke@dailyherald.com