Terminal 5 at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport has been under construction for a while– but now it’s completed and with this expansion comes extra room and more flights. With the opening of the new Terminal 5, O’Hare can now accommodate many more planes and passengers as 10 new gates have been added to the East Concourse.
Construction on this project has been ongoing since 2019 and the official Terminal 5 opening marks a new chapter in aviation travel for the world-class airport. An added 750,000 square feet of space has also been renovated. The airport, which was been dubbed a place of romance back in 2020, will continue additional expansions. The brand new gates are part of a larger $1.3 billion airport revamp, and now Terminal 5’s capacity is up by 25% with an added 350,000 new square feet of space.
With the opening of the new gates, there are now an additional 120 flights taking off and landing from O’Hare daily. According to the Chicago Department of Aviation, the renovated terminal can hold 18,000 additional daily passengers. This in turn then brings the number of flights at this terminal to around 400+ arrivals and departures every day.
Terminal 5 also now serves both domestic and international flights, ramping up its capacity. It succeeds in using a system that works for holding both large-body planes and smaller aircraft. The extended gate capacity can now fit 9 multiple aircraft ramp systems (also known as MARS) gates holding up to 2 widebody planes or three single-aisle ones.
[Featured photo via: HOK]