MDW Airport

Location
Midway Airport is located in the city’s south side, surrounded by 55th Street, Cicero Avenue, 63rd Street and Central Avenue. It is eight miles from Chicago’s Loop, which puts it at an advantage over O’Hare, as that is further away. The airport is accessed by Highways I-55 and I-90, and is only a 25 minute train ride to the Loop.

History
Midway Airport began in 1927 as the city’s Municipal Airport. It continued to play a crucial role in World War II as it was used by the US Military and was often a stopping point for both aircraft and crewmen as they traveled between the two coasts. After the 1942 Battle of Midway, the City of Chicago officially renamed the airport in 1949 to Chicago Midway International in honor of the historic event. With the opening of O’Hare, Midway began to see a decrease in passenger traffic starting in 1960. In addition, Midway’s runways were unable to handle the larger aircrafts. Reconstruction began to keep Midway at the forefront of air services and passenger traffic slowly began to increase once again. Throughout the development and changes of Midway International, record-breaking growth has occurred and is continuing to be one of the fastest growing airports in the nation