CHICAGO _ More flights have been arriving on time at O'Hare International Airport over the last four years _ moving O'Hare's ranking from the bottom among large airports to the middle of the pack, according to federal statistics.
O'Hare has moved from last place among 29 large airports in 2014 to 14th of out of 30 big airports in 2017, with 80.8 percent of arrivals on time, up from 67.6 percent, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Midway Airport also has seen improvement, going from 24th to 12th place over the same period, with 81.7 percent on-time arrivals, the FAA said. The federal agency only released arrival data and related analysis, not departures.
The city's Aviation Department said the improvements show the effectiveness of the O'Hare Modernization Program, which reconfigured the airfield into a parallel runway layout, with more runways going east to west, rather than on diagonals. Airports favor parallel configurations as safer and more efficient.
The city also expects O'Hare's on-time ranking will continue to rise with a planned $8.5 billion overhaul. The airport is listed as the second busiest in the world when it comes to air traffic.
"More gate and terminal capacity is expected to reduce delays and to improve airline performance," said aviation spokeswoman Lauren Huffman in an email. The City Council last week allowed Mayor Rahm Emanuel to borrow up to $4 billion for the plan to add gates, concourses and an updated international terminal at the airport.
The city's Aviation Department, referring to federal statistics, noted that O'Hare's performance puts it ahead of other major airports in cold climates, including Philadelphia, Boston and New York's Kennedy and LaGuardia airports. The three cities whose airports boast the best on-time performance numbers are Minneapolis/St. Paul, Salt Lake City and Atlanta, the FAA said.
