2025 has been a year of historic highs at O’Hare. Chicago’s largest airport just recorded the busiest day ever at security just weeks after setting the previous record.
The Transportation Security Administration announced the milestone in a social media post shared on Twitter/X Monday.
“Sunday, July 20 was the busiest day of all time for TSA at O’Hare — breaking a record that was set less than a month ago,” wrote the agency.
A whopping 115,962 passengers passed through TSA on Sunday, shattering the previous record of 113,772 set on June 22 of 2025.
TSA added that it anticipates the trend of high passenger volumes to continue, advising travelers to “arrive early & pack smart when flying this summer!”
Looking at the data
According to data from the TSA, 7 of the busiest days on record at O’Hare have occurred in 2025 alone. This begs the question: what is driving these historic numbers?
While we can’t pinpoint an exact cause, expanded flight service could be a contributing factor. United and American Airlines recently added dozens of new destinations and daily flights at O’Hare.
So if you’re looking to plan your next getaway from Chicago, you now have more flight options than ever before!