ONE of the world’s busiest airports is getting a multi-million pound makeover.
Chicago O’Hare has around 70million passengers a year, and was even the world’s busiest airport until 1998.
Chicago O’Hare Airport is undergoing a £6.2billion renovation[/caption]
A brand new concourse is one of the biggest plans[/caption]
The design team are also behind the famous Burj Khalifa[/caption]
When it comes to flight movements – meaning how many planes are taking off and arriving – it is actually the busiest, beating Dubai Airport and Atlanta Airport with as many as 2,442 a day.
And it is now undergoing a huge $8.5billion (£6.2billion) makeover, it’s biggest expansion in history, called O’Hare 21.
First revealed back in 2018, the biggest project is the new Global Terminal, costing $2.2billion.
This will double the size of Terminal 2, with new gates and improved baggage, immigration and customs systems.
Terminal 3 is currently undergoing a $300million (£221million) revamp, which started in April 2024.
This will see improvements and upgrades across, with newer security screening and better baggage facilities.
A new 10,000sqft shopping and dining space will also be added, with it hoping to be fully completed by 2027.
It is also getting a new $1.3billion (£926million) concourse, called Concourse D.
The team behind the new expansion is architecture studio SOM, famous for designing the Burj Khalifa and Canary Wharf.
The first new one at the airport since 1993, it will be next to Terminal 1 with 19 gates.
Terminal 3 is also getting a makeover[/caption]
The works are expected to cost billions[/caption]
Both domestic and international flights will operate from there, and will be connected to Concourse C, used by United Airlines.
SOM design partner Scott Duncan told Dezeen: “From skylit spaces to orchard-inspired columns, every element contributes to a bright, easy-to-navigate environment designed to elevate the travel experience and leave a lasting impression of O’Hare.”
Images show indoor greenery and gardens, as well as huge floor to ceiling glass windows, with the curved walls inspired by “Midwestern rivers”.
There are also plans for a new Concourse E, which could start by 2029 (after Concourse D is completed in 2028).
The airport’s entire expansion is set to be completed by 2034.
Terminal 5 has also opened its $1.3billion expansion back in 2023, which included 10 new gates as well as a larger eastern area.
Here is a £25billion mega airport hoping to open in Europe in the next decade.
And Changi Airport – often named the world’s best – is opening a new T5.
The expansion hopes to be finished by 2034[/caption]