Please keep your seat belt fastened.
The spring break travel season is expected to be busier than last year, with an estimated 2.9 million people using Chicago's airports.
O'Hare Airport expects to see a 7% increase in passenger numbers from March 21 to April 1 compared to last year, according to the Chicago Department of Aviation.
Midway Airport could see a 2.4% increase in passenger numbers during this year's spring break, which coincides with Holy Week celebrations, Easter and Chicago Public Schools' spring break.
According to the ministry, March 28 is expected to be the busiest day at both airports.
On Thursday, transportation officials reminded travelers to prepare for possible delays by arriving early, using public transportation to avoid car backups, and conducting checks. parking availability online.
It's important to remember that Chicago's airports are: Travel numbers have partially returned to pre-pandemic levelsAccording to data from the Ministry of Aviation.
Midway is busier than it was before COVID-19. The airport recorded 22 million passengers last year, surpassing 20 million in 2019, according to Civil Aviation Authority data.
O'Hare remains behind. This transportation hub's passenger numbers in 2023 were 73 million, significantly lower than the 84 million that passed through its gates in 2019.
Still, the number of travelers is higher than in recession-era 2020, when O'Hare had 30 million people and Midway had 8 million.
Travelers who want to avoid crowds and delays may want to consider traveling on weekdays.a recent research It turns out that a quarter of flights were delayed over the spring break weekend. Flight delays were lowest on weekdays, especially Tuesdays.
According to the study, Midway Airport ranks fourth in the nation for the most flight delays during spring break. About 32% of flights at the airport were delayed for more than 15 minutes. The average delay was 50 minutes.
O'Hare had a lower rate of delayed flights at 18%, but the average delay was 1 hour and 11 minutes. The national average for flight delays was 21% at airports, and the average time was 1 hour and 8 minutes.
