Terminal 1, 2, 3—and 5? What's the deal with Chicago O'Hare Terminal 4?
The Mysterious Case of Chicago O’Hare’s Missing Terminal
If you’ve ever had to fly via Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport—which wouldn’t be surprising, considering it’s the world’s tenth busiest airport—you might have noticed something strange. The airport has Terminals 1, 2, 3 and … 5. So what happened to Chicago O’Hare’s Terminal 4? Keep reading to find out the history of O’Hare’s mysterious missing terminal.
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Was there ever a Terminal 4 at Chicago O’Hare?
Looking at a map of Chicago O’Hare, there doesn’t seem to be space for a missing terminal. The first three terminals are for domestic flights, and they are all connected. Meanwhile, Terminal 5, the hub for international flights, is in its own building, accessible by a transfer bus. But Chicago O’Hare is conspicuously missing Terminal 4.
Terminal 4 actually was on the grid at one point—but for less than a decade. Until 1985, the airport had just three terminals, with Terminal 1 used for international travel. As the airport started getting more global travelers, it had to add more space for those flights, Chicago Department of Aviation spokesperson Karen Price told WBEZ radio in Chicago. And so Terminal 4 was built.
So what happened to Terminal 4?
But then everything went wrong. No sooner was Terminal 4 built than it showed some major design flaws. The area was too small to handle all the flights, and it was tough to deal with bus traffic. Chicago O’Hare designers got to work on improvements, and in 1993, Terminal 4 was replaced with the new and improved Terminal 5.
Even though Chicago O’Hare Terminal 4 was no longer in use (it’s now home to the airport’s bus depot), airport officials decided not to reuse the name, concerned that travelers would get confused and try to go to the site of the old Terminal 4.
Chicago Department of Aviation spokesperson Gregg Cunningham told TimeOut in 2009 that the airport had plans to resurrect the name for a new building, but so far, there’s been no movement on that front.
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Sources:
- FlyChicago.com: Map of Chicago O’Hare Airport
- USA Today: “This US airport was once again named the busiest in the world: See the top 10”
- Webez Chicago: “O’Hare’s Ghost: Whatever Happened to Terminal 4?”
- Travel + Leisure: “Why You’ll Never Fly Out of Terminal 4 at Chicago O’Hare”
- TimeOut: “Why is there no Terminal 4 at O’Hare Airport?”
