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Chicago-Midway International Airport (IATA: MDW, ICAO: KMDW), 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 airpor t 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.
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 Air Lines, 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.
Midway is the main operations base of ATA Airlines (ATA), which, in addition to its domestic network, flies internationally from Midway to cities in Mexico. Prior to 2004, ATA had offered significant scheduled service to destinations from Midway Airport, however, after the airline declared bankruptcy in October, 2004, sche duled service form Midway significantly decreased. Due to repeated cancellations to its schedule, ATA now offers only 18 daily non-stop flights to 5 destinations.
Southwest Airlines is currently the dominant carrier at Midway, controlling 29 of the airport's 43 gates. Currently, the airline offers 216 daily departures to 47 destinations. AirTran Airways is the second largest carrier at Midway, offering about 30 daily non-stop flights to 8 destinations. AirTran is continuing its Chicago (Midway) expansion with the addition of nonstop service to Fort Myers (Dec. 21), Miami (Feb. 7), and West Palm Beach (Feb. 7). By February 2007, the airline will offer service to 11 non-stop destinations with 33 daily departures from Midway.
Despite its small size compared to O'Hare, Midway is still a vital Chicago transportation terminal. Its key advantage is that it is closer to the Loop than O'Hare.
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 hangars 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.
Midway Airport DiagramThe 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, r econstruction 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 at Midway before ending its operations in 1991. Midway Airlines helped revitalize the airport and led the way for other discount carriers, who benefitted from Midway's lower costs and close proximity to Chicago's Loop, to prosper. Southwest Airlines, which began operations at Midway in 1985, was one such beneficiary.
The Chicago Transit Authority displaced the Carlton Midway Inn to open a new CTA 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.
Both American Airlines and United Airlines ended all scheduled service to Midway in September 2006, in favor of concentrating Chicago-area operations at O'Hare. This may bode well for initiation of service at Gary/Chicago International Airport by these carriers, once runway extensions are completed there by 2009.
Big Sky Airlines announced on November 1, 2006, the commencement of scheduled service nonstop flights between Springfield, Illinois, and Midway to start on December 3. Four weekday flights will be offered, with two flights being offered on the weekends.
Air Midwest, a subsidiary of Mesa Air Group, also confirmed that scheduled service flights would commence between Midway and Decatur, Marion, and Quincy, Illinois in early February, 2007.
Airfield
Midway Runway DiagramThe original fully-developed 1940s layout included 8 runways 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:
Runway 13C/31C: 6,522 x 150 ft. (1,988 x 46 m), air carrier runway, ILS equipped.
Runway 4R/22L: 6,446 x 150 ft. (1,965 x 46 m), air carrier runway, ILS equipped.
Runway 4L/22R: 5,507 x 150 ft. (1,679 x 46 m), general aviation & air taxi.
Runway 13L/31R: 5,141 x 150 ft. (1,567 x 46 m), general aviation & air taxi.
Runway 13R/31L: 3,859 x 60 ft. (1,176 x 18 m), light aircraft only.
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.
Further information: Displaced threshold
Airlines and destinations
Chicago-Midway Airport has 43 Gates on 3 Concourses (A, B, & C)
Chicago-Midway CoucoursesMesa Airlines operated by Air Midwest (Decatur, Marion, Quincy) [begins February, 2007]
Concourse A
Concourse A has 17 Gates: A1 - A3, A4A, A4B, A5, A7, A9 - A12, A14 - A19
AirTran Airways Gates A4A, A4B, A10, A12 (Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Dallas/Fort Worth, Fort Myers [seasonal; begins December 21, 2006], Miami [begins February 7, 2007], Minneapolis/St. Paul, Newark, Orlando, Sarasota/Bradenton, West Palm Beach [begins February 7, 2007])
ATA Airlines Gate A3 (International Arrivals) (See Concourse B)
Delta Air Lines Gate A1
Delta Connection operated by Atlantic Southeast Airlines (Atlanta)
Delta Connection operated by Comair (Atlanta [ends January 5, 2007], Boston [begins January 6, 2007])
Delta Connection operated by Shuttle America (Atlanta)
Frontier Airlines Gate A2 (Cancún [weekend charter], Denver)
Northwest Airlines Gates A5, A7 (Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul)
Southwest Airlines Gates A9, A11, A14 - A19 (Albany, Albuquerque, Austin, Baltimore/Washington, Birmingham (AL), Buffalo, Cleveland, Columbus, Denver, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Hartford, Houston-Hobby, Indianapolis, Jackson, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Little Rock, Long Island/Islip, Los Angeles, Louisville, Manchester (NH), Nashville, New Orleans, Norfolk, Oakland, Omaha, Orange County, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland (OR), Providence, Raleigh/Durham, Reno/Tahoe, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Jose (CA), Seattle/Tacoma, St. Louis, Tampa, Tucson, Washington-Dulles)
Concourse B
Midway is ATA's hub airport.Concourse B has 23 Gates: B1 - B3, B5, B7 - B12, B14 - B26
ATA Airlines Gates B25, B26 (Cancún, Dallas/Fort Worth, Guadalajara, New York-LaGuardia, Washington-Reagan)
Southwest Airlines Gates B1 - B3, B5, B7 - B12, B14 - B24 (See Concourse A)
Concourse C
Concourse C has 3 Gates: C1 - C3
Big Sky Airlines Gate C1 (Springfield (IL))
Continental Airlines Gates C2, C3 (Newark)
Continental Express operated by ExpressJet Airlines (Cleveland, Newark)
Incidents
In 1955, an American Airlines flight struck a billboard while attempting to land on runway 13R. The plane crashed onto the field and about 20 people perished.[citation needed]
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. This became the impetus for the modern air traffic control system.
In 1959, a TWA Constellation freighter attempted to return to the field with engine problems. The aircraft struck a building at the intersection of 64th and Knox streets, and came to rest at the intersection of 64th and Kilpatrick. 11 people died, including 3 of the airline's crew and the remainder on the ground.[citation needed]
On December 8 1972, United Airlines Flight 533, a Boeing 737-200, 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 737-700 inbound from Baltimore-Washington International Airport in 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 at its northwest corner [1]. 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 [2].
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