Chicago Midway International Airport

Situated on the southwest side of Chicago, Illinois, Chicago Midway International Airport is a major commercial airport around 12 miles from the city's Loop business core. When O'Hare International Airport opened in 1944, Midway Airport—which had been established in 1927—was the main airport serving Chicago. With 22,050,489 passengers served in 2023, Midway Airport is one of the busiest in the US and the second busiest in the Chicago metropolitan region and the state of Illinois. Midway features three concourses with forty-three airplane gates. The Orange Line "L" and many bus lines to the airport are run by the Chicago Transit Authority. Pace also runs a lot of bus routes. Manteno and Bourbonnais in Kankakee County are connected to the airport via a commuter bus service run by River Valley Metro.

Southwest Airlines operates out of Midway, handling more than 95% of the airport traffic. The Battle of Midway is honored with the current name of the airport. Midway Airport was the inspiration for the name of the now-defunct Midway Airlines, which had its headquarters there. The airfield is situated inside a square mile that is bordered by Central and Cicero avenues, as well as 55th and 63rd streets. Completed in 2001, the terminal complex is now. The terminal has 43 gates with amenities for foreign travelers and spans Cicero Avenue. Transportation to Downtown Chicago is provided by the CTA Orange route rapid transit route, which links to other subway and elevated fast transit lines.

Every terminal and hangar were situated on the perimeter of the area. The shorter east–west and north–south runway pairs had been decommissioned by the late 1970s, but some had been turned into taxiways. The remaining four runways are still in use; they have all been reinforced and improved, but their lengths are roughly constant. In 1989, a short runway (13R/31L) for small aircraft was added. With four operational runways, Chicago Midway International Airport is located little over one square mile. The runways' landing thresholds are moved to offer obstacle clearance because Midway is surrounded by structures and other development. By following different weather minimums and computed load restrictions, the FAA and airlines guarantee safety. Runways have less distance available for landings than for takeoffs due to the displaced landing thresholds.