Chicago O'Hare vs Midway: Which Airport to Fly From

Quick answer

Midway (MDW) for Southwest and short domestic hops with the cheapest fare; O'Hare (ORD) for United and American, most other carriers, and every international flight.

Airlines

O'Hare is a hub for both United and American, with Delta, Spirit, Frontier, and dozens of international carriers. Midway is Southwest's fortress with a handful of Delta and Frontier flights.

Fares

On routes served from both, Midway is often cheaper thanks to Southwest, but not always; a United or American sale from O'Hare can undercut it. Our Chicago route pages cover both airports on one page.

Getting there

Both have CTA rail: the Blue Line runs 24 hours to O'Hare in about 45 minutes from the Loop, and the Orange Line reaches Midway in roughly 25 minutes but stops overnight. Midway sits 10 miles from downtown against O'Hare's 17, so a rideshare or taxi is cheaper and faster to Midway outside rush hour.

Parking and drop-off

Midway's garage is attached to the single terminal, so the walk from car to gate is short and daily rates run lower. O'Hare is far larger: economy lots sit away from the terminals with a shuttle or the airport transit system in between, so allow extra time. Both have free cell-phone waiting lots for pickups.

Connections and delays

O'Hare is one of the busiest connecting hubs in the world, which means more nonstop options but also more exposure to weather and air-traffic delays that ripple nationwide. Midway is mostly point-to-point on Southwest, so it sees fewer cascading delays, but its compact airfield has less room to absorb a bad-weather day. For a tight same-day connection, O'Hare has the schedule; for a simple round trip you want to run smoothly, Midway is calmer.

Choose by trip

• Southwest, a short domestic hop, or the lowest fare, staying near downtown or the south side: Midway.
• United or American, a connection, an international flight, or the north and northwest suburbs: O'Hare.
• Either way, price both on the Chicago route page, which merges O'Hare and Midway fares.