Information AboutMidway Airport |
''This an article about the airport in Chicago. For the airport in British Columbia , Canada see Midway Airport (British Columbia) '' Chicago Midway International Airport , also known simply as '''Midway Airport''' is an Airport in Chicago, Illinois , located on the city's southwest side, eight miles from Chicago's Loop . It is bordered by 55th Street, 63rd Street, Central Avenue, and Cicero Avenue. The Garfield Ridge Community Area bounds the airport to the north and the Clearing community area bounds it to the south. Midway is heavily used by low-cost carriers, and to a lesser extent by legacy carriers. It is Chicagoland 's second busiest airport behind O'Hare International Airport , and ahead of Gary/Chicago International Airport and Northwest Chicagoland International Airport At Rockford . Before the rise of O'Hare in the late 1950s , Midway was the World's Busiest Airport and one of the key hubs in the U.S. airline system. United Airlines was headquartered at Midway in the pre-O'Hare days, and American Airlines was originally based at Midway until it moved its headquarters to New York City in the mid- 1930s . There was also a very large presence from TWA and Eastern Airlines , as well as several others. The airport was extensively renovated in 1958 and, again, in 1967 , following which time several of the legacy carriers resumed service after a period of some years. Midway was also a hub for the startup Midway Airlines in the 1980s . Southwest Airlines is currently the dominant carrier at Midway, controlling 25 of the airport's 43 gates and with 196 departures daily. Midway is also the main operations base of ATA Airlines (ATA), which, in addition to its domestic network, flies internationally from Midway to cities in Mexico . Due to repeated cancellations to its schedule, ATA will offer about 18 nonstop flights to five destinations by the end of April 2006. Presently, AirTran Airways is the second largest carrier at Midway. By June 2006, the carrier will offer 30 nonstop flights to eight destinations. HISTORY Originally named Chicago Air Park, Midway Airport was built on 320 acres in 1923 and consisted of a single cinder runway that primarily served Airmail services. In 1926, the Chicago City Council leased the land for commercial purposes from the Chicago Board Of Education at a rate of $1560 per year. On December 12 of the following year, Midway was dedicated as "Chicago Municipal Airport" and became known as "Munie" to many early pilots. During its first full year of operation in 1928, the airfield was home to twelve Hangar s and four runways, lit for night operations. Air traffic control was handled by flagmen, who would be positioned at the end of the runways, where they were responsible that year for controlling 14,498 flight operations carrying 41,660 passengers. The official observation site for Chicago's weather records was also moved to Midway during that year from the downtown area and would remain there until it was moved again, this time to O'Hare, in 1958. A new passenger terminal and administration building, funded by a bond issue, was dedicated in 1931 by Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak and in the following year, Midway Airport earned the title of "World's Busiest" with over 100,000 passengers riding on 60,947 flights. Midway held that title for three decades until O'Hare claimed it in 1962. The war years proved to be a boon for Midway, which saw new construction funded in part by $1 million in Federal monies from the Works Progress Administration , and work on additional runways moved forward in 1941 when a court ordered the Chicago And Western Indiana Railroad to reroute tracks in the vicinity of the airfield. Midway handled a full 25% of the Nation's 417,000 passengers during that year. The airport was officially renamed on July 8, 1949, by a unanimous vote in the City Council, to "Chicago Midway Airport" in honor of the World War II Battle Of Midway , and saw 3.2 million passengers carried on 223,000 flights during that year. The number of passengers rose to 3.5 million the next year and reached a height of 10 million in 1959. However, by that time the airport had proved unable to handle larger aircraft and higher passenger loads. By 1961, the airport faced a 60% drop in passenger traffic, largely due to the opening of O'Hare in 1955. United Airlines, the first major carrier to serve Midway, ceased operations at the airport, the last remaining carrier to do so during this period of decline. By 1967, reconstruction had begun at the airport, and in 1968, the City invested $10 million in renovation funds. The funds partly supported construction of the Stevenson Expressway , which proved to be a major route for passengers to the airport, and Midway saw the return of major airlines during that year. In 1979, Midway Airlines began operations, the first to do so after the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, and went on to become the flagship carrier. (This airline, which ended its operations in 1991, is unrelated to the re-emerged Midway Airlines that was based at Raleigh-Durham International Airport before it too collapsed in 2001.) Midway Airlines helped revitalize the airport and led the way for other carriers that prefered Midway's lower costs and closer in location, to prosper, such as Southwest Airlines , which began operations at Midway in 1985. The Chicago Transit Authority displaced the Carlton Midway Inn to open a new Rapid Transit Terminal at the airport on October 31, 1993 for the newly established Chicago 'L' Orange Line , which connected Midway to Chicago's Loop. In the summer of 1999, a new parking facility was constructed, providing 3000 parking spaces within walking distance of the airport, and in 2001 a new 900,000 square foot (84,000 square meter) passenger terminal was opened. Midway Airport continues today as a vital part of the Chicago Airport System . AIRFIELD The original fully-developed 1940s layout included 8 Runway s that crisscrossed the 8-block-by-8-block (one square mile) property. All terminals and hangars were on the square periphery. By the late 1970s the shorter north-south and east-west runway pairs had been closed. 4 of the original runways remain, all significantly strengthened and enhanced, but essentially the same lengths as always. A short runway for light aircraft was added in 1989 . Chicago Midway International Airport covers 650 acres and currently has five runways:
Because Midway is surrounded by buildings and other development, the landing thresholds of the runways are displaced to provide a proper obstacle clearance. While adequate and legal for the purposes used, these runways leave little margin for error. Both the FAA and the airlines assure safety by limiting loads and adhering to adjusted weather minimums. A fatal runway overrun accident on December 8, 2005 involving a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700 raised questions about the safety of Midway's short runways for use by medium-haul commercial Airliner s. Whereas larger airports utilize a buffer zone for overruns, the ends of most of the Midway's runways are directly adjacent to neighboring streets, separated only by a fence and, in some cases, a jet blast deflector. Jets approaching Midway can be seen flying very low over neighborhood streets surrounding the airport in Chicago. This is a necessity to take advantage of the full length of the runway. However, Midway's runways are not the shortest in commercial use and no previous overrun accidents had occurred. TERMINALS AND AIRLINES Concourse A
Concourse B
Concourse C
INCIDENTS On June 30 1956 United Airlines Flight 718 , a Douglas DC-7 , was headed for Midway Airport. Over the Grand Canyon it collided with a TWA Super Constellation killing all 128 people on both planes. On December 8 1972 , United Airlines Flight 533 , a Boeing 737 , crashed into a residential area outside of Midway during landing, killing 43 of the 61 on board, and two on the ground. The plane had been ordered to abort its landing attempt and try again, but the crew failed to retract the plane's Spoilers . Exactly 33 years later, on December 8 2005 , Southwest Airlines Flight 1248 , a Boeing 737 inbound from Baltimore, Maryland , slid off the runway while attempting to land at the airport in heavy snow and winds. The airplane broke through the barrier fence of the airport and came to rest in the intersection of 55th Street and Central Avenue bordering the airport. A 6-year-old boy was killed as a passenger in a vehicle that was struck by the plane after it skidded into the street. [http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1388565 TRANSIT Midway Airport is served by the Chicago Transit Authority 's famous "L" . Passengers can board Orange Line trains at a station in the airport terminal, which runs to downtown Chicago and the Loop. This same station doubles as a stop for many CTA-run buses that serve the surrounding areas. Midway is one of the few airports in the United States that have direct Light Rail train to terminal service. EXTERNAL LINKS
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