City needs to shake up sluggish O’Hare terminal project or risk ire of more air travelers, report warns

Key Points:

• O’Hare Airport is falling behind other major U.S. airports in passenger satisfaction and taxi times due to aging infrastructure and ongoing terminal construction, with parts of Terminals 2 and 3 dating back to 1962 and no new terminal built in the last 25 years.
• The airport’s prolonged construction project, which began in 2025, has increased taxi times from 22 minutes in 2023 to 28 minutes in 2024, while passenger ratings have declined annually, according to a new report by DePaul University’s Chaddick Institute.
• The report recommends several measures to mitigate congestion, including shifting more flights to the underused Terminal 5, employing modular off-site construction techniques, and exploring mobile terminal technology to board flights away from current terminals.
• Delays in terminal development were caused by prolonged planning since 2001 and airlines’ cost concerns post-COVID-19, but the city has recently accelerated construction efforts, with new satellite terminals expected by 2030 and a Global Terminal by 2033.
• The Chicago Aviation Department acknowledges the challenges and states it is coordinating with airlines and federal partners to limit construction impacts, noting that O’Hare has eight runways and recently completed a 16-year runway modernization program.