Chicago O’Hare Changes Construction Sequence For $8.8B Revamp

Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) will break ground later this year on the renovation and expansion of Concourse E, changing the sequence of construction for its $8.8 billion modernization program to maintain capacity during the building of its new terminal.

The construction of the Global Terminal, the centerpiece of ORD’s modernization program, will now follow the 2029 completion of the first phase of Concourse E. The Global Terminal will replace Terminal 2, to which Concourse E is attached. ORD has four terminals.

The Concourse E construction phase commencing this year will add 14 new gates to “provide the capacity needed to support the construction of the O'Hare Global Terminal in a single, coordinated phase beginning in 2029,” the Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA), which operates ORD and Midway (MDW) airports, said. 

The purpose of the Global Terminal, scheduled to be completed in 2033, is to consolidate domestic and international flights for hub carriers American Airlines and United Airlines, allowing for smoother connections. The Global Terminal is slated to span 2.2 million ft.2, twice the size of the current Terminal 2.

Previous plans called for ORD to build the Global Terminal and then Concourse E. Instead, the 14 new Concourse E gates will be added first. Once the Global Terminal is completed in 2033, a second phase of Concourse E construction will add another 10 gates.

“By moving forward with [the] new Concourse E this year, we are adding gates where they are needed … and creating a clear path to deliver the O'Hare Global Terminal … as quickly as possible,” Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said in announcing the new timeline. The City of Chicago owns ORD and MDW.

The new sequence aims to give American and United room to grow, even as major construction takes place over the next seven years. “The revised project phasing was developed in coordination with [American and United],” CDA said.

Chicago-based United said it is “pleased to see a path forward that brings new capacity online sooner [and] maintains efficient airport operations throughout construction and beyond."

American and United have been attempting to rapidly build up capacity at ORD, the pace of which was moving so fast that the FAA intervened in April to cap flights at the airport at 2,708 operations per day.

The FAA said when it imposed that cap that the carriers’ planned ramp-up for the 2026 summer schedule—which would have pushed daily operations to over 3,000 flights—threatened to “stress the runway, terminal and air traffic control systems at the airport.”

The cap was set to expire in October 2026, but has been extended by the FAA through October 2027.

CDA said demand at ORD “continues to grow,” noting that the airport handled 100 more daily departures in July 2026 compared to July 2025. Even with the cap, “both hub carriers have significantly expanded their operations,” said CDA.

ORD is already building a new Concourse D, another component of the modernization program that will add 19 new gates by late 2028.

CDA Commissioner Mike McMurray said the 14 gates added as part of the first phase of the Concourse E construction will “give us the flexibility to maintain safe, efficient airline operations while we undertake the most consequential pieces of [the modernization]. Just as importantly, this sequencing positions us to deliver the O'Hare Global Terminal in a more efficient, coordinated and fiscally responsible way, before completing the remaining 10 new Concourse E gates."