United Airlines gains five more gates at Chicago O'Hare amid legal challenge

Omar Idris, United's vice president of O'Hare operations, stated: "Building on the momentum of an anticipated record-breaking summer, we're taking things further this fall with our busiest flight schedule of the year. This is truly a historic time for our hometown hub of O'Hare."

American Airlines also expects a surge in travel this summer with passenger numbers up by 25% and the addition of 18 new destinations from O’Hare. As reported by ABC7 News, American claims that granting additional gates to United disrupts the balance at ORD and represents an unfair reallocation.

American plans to operate 480 daily flights this summer from ORD across 150 destinations. Despite having fewer gates than United at O’Hare, American handles just over half but manages more than 80% of the airport’s traffic.

Meanwhile, ongoing developments under the O’Hare-21 project are set to transform ORD with a $2.2 billion Global Terminal expected to be one of the largest and most advanced airport facilities in the U.S., replacing Terminal 2 with expanded facilities aimed at improving passenger experience.