Chicago Midway International Airport

Chicago Midway International Airport, originally known as Chicago Municipal Airport, was established in 1927 and was once known as the world’s busiest airport. At its peak it served up to 10 million passengers, but originally was used as airmail travel before moving towards passenger service. With the ups and downs of the economy and life during the mid-1900s, Midway Airport also had many shifts in their services. From assisting in World War II to competing with O’Hare International Airport, Midway has endured plenty. Despite the obstacles faced, Midway Airport still remains relevant and a strong staple airport in the Chicagoland area. 

In 1926, the City of Chicago acquired a one square mile plot of land that happened to have a grammar school in one corner while the rest of the land was used to grow onions.^[4] The grammar school was known as Nathan Hale Elementary School.^[1] This land was owned by the Board of Education.^[3] This would be the start of a new way of life in Chicago. 

BEGINNING OF LAND 

Mayor William H. Thompson dedicated this plot of land to be used for aircraft travel six months after Charles Lindbergh made his historic transatlantic flight in 1927.^[3]  It was known as the Chicago Municipal Airport. A single cinder runway was used as airmail traffic on December 12, 1927.^[4]  At first only private aircrafts were the first planes to take off and land here, but over a few months this changed drastically. This runway was used by six airlines that were operating at Midway at the time. These included: Braniff, Chicago and Southern, Eastern, Northwest, TWA, and United Airlines.^[2] Between 1932 through 1961, Chicago Municipal Airport was the world’s busiest airport.^[3]

WAR TIME EFFORT

During the time that Pearl Harbor was attacked, this led the Municipal Airport joining the war effort to hold the United States. After the end of World War II in 1945 became busier than ever. To combat this they built a larger terminal, round upper floors in the center of the building, and even a Cloud Room restaurant during 1947-1948.^[2] In 1949, the Chicago Municipal Airport changed its name to Chicago Midway Airport in solidarity with the battle of Midway that occurred during the war effort. The battle of Midway was a pacific air and sea battle of WWII.^[4]  

BATTLE WITH O’HARE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

By the 1950s there was an increased use of larger, four-engine aircrafts. Midway Airport, unfortunately, did not have the room for this expansion which resulted in the City of Chicago needing to build O’Hare Field. O’Hare opened in 1955 as a modern, convenient, and jet-friendly option in comparison to Midway. It was able to accommodate longer runways with the huge space of land that it acquired. 

MIDWAY AIRPORT CHALLENGES AND REVIVAL

During the time of economic and technological instability, Midway fell prey to all the changes in aviation. With the lack of room for expansion and growth, Midway faced many challenges and changes in its career. It was only able to accommodate smaller, two-engine jets unlike O’Hare Airport.^[2]  

The City of Chicago saw the struggles that Midway was experiencing and tried to do everything possible to save the airport from closing down completely. In 1968 the city offered ten million doors for renovations to help the advancement of the airport.^[4] In 1973, there was an enormous decrease in flights at Midway partially due to oil and fuel shortages which again caused consumers to shift towards O’Hare.^[3] The City of Chicago even took it upon themselves to reconstruct the Stevenson Expressway that was near Midway in order to make traffic towards the airport easier for passengers. But, despite this assistance by 1976 only Delta Airlines continued to serve at Midway. 

In 1979, the Douglas DC-9 jets made Midway Airport its home base which caused the revival of the airport.^[2] In 1982, the city purchased the Midway Airport from the Board of Education for sixteen million dollars.^[3] Despite all the efforts put together to continue the growth of the airport, by 1991 Midway declared bankruptcy and ceased operations.^[3] Even with the bankruptcy label, Southwest Airlines increased their service which aided in their recovery. In the 1990s Midway was praised for its small, friendly, and cost-conscious prices which has been keeping it in business. As of May 2022 there are now ten airlines serving Midway International Airport with Southwest being the main one. The others include: Frontier, Delta, Votaries, United, Sun Country, Allegiance, J-Air, Tradewind Aviation, and Khalistan Charters Airlines.^[2]

^[1] Early Years of Chicago Midway, Chicago Tribune. May 31st, 2013. Accessed November 8th, 2022. http://galleries.apps.chicagotribune.com/chi-130523-history-midway-international-airport-pictures/.

^[2] Goldman, Marvin G. Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) In Postcards, WAHS. June 21st, 2022. Accessed November 8th, 2022. https://wahsonline.com/chicago-midway-international-airport-mdw-in-postcards/.

^[3] Midway History, Chicago Department of Aviation. Accessed November 8th, 2022. https://www.flychicago.com/business/CDA/Pages/Midway.aspx#:~:text=In%201949%2C%20the%20airport%20was,than%2018%20million%20passengers%20annually.

^[4] Vaillant , Derek. Midway Airport, Encyclopedia of Chicago. Accessed November 8th, 2022. http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/828.html.