Chicago Midway Airport
Airport Review

Chicago Midway International Airport Reviews, Baggage Policies, & Specific Allowances!

Chicago Midway International Airport is a commercial airport which is located on the southwest side of Chicago. Formerly it is one of the Chicago’s main airports which is currently dominated by low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines.

The Chicago Midway International Airport suffered a decline in traffic with the opening of O’Hare International Airport but later it experienced a significant traffic growth. Currently, the Midway Airport is the second-largest passenger airport in the Chicago metropolitan area after O’Hare International Airport on the Northwest Side.

TERMINALS’ SPECIAL:

Southwest Airlines is the carrier which carries out the maximum activities regarding the transportation of the passengers from Chicago Midway Airport. In the year 2008, the airport supports more than 17 million passengers.

The Chicago Midway International Airport has 43 aircraft gates in total on the three concourses i.e. concourse A, B, and C.

The details of the three concourses and their gates are as follow:

  • Concourse A – It includes 17 gates in total mainly A1–A3, A4A–B, A5, A7, A9–A12, A14–A19.
  • Concourse B – The Concourse B includes 23 gates that are B1–B3, B5–B12, and B14–B26.
  • Concourse C – the Concourse C has only 3 gates from C1 to C3.

FACILITIES AND SERVICES:

SHOPS:

You can easily find a lot of opportunities to buy a lot of stuff at reasonable rates at the Chicago Midway International Airport. You can find Chicago Treasures, Discover Chicago, Hallmark, Life is Good, George’s Music Room, Kids Works, Press Relay, House of Blues, Hudson Book Sellers, Hudson News, Spirit of the Red Horse and more shops here.

RESTAURANTS:

The Chicago Midway International Airport is famous for its Midway Triangle which offers a lot of options to the passengers visiting here. This includes Ben and Jerry’s, Gold Coast Dogs, Potbelly’s, Illinois Bar and Grill, Hudson’s Euro Café, Lalo’s Mexican Restaurant, King Wah Express, Pegasus On the Fly, Reilly’s Daughter, Nuts on Clark and much more.

There is the availability of different options at different concourses of the airport.

CONCOURSE A: Passengers can enjoy the services of Dot-com Cafe, McDonald’s, Manny’s, Tuscany and more at the concourse A.

CONCOURSE B: At the Concourse B, you can easily find McDonald’s, Miller’s Pub, Oak Street Beach Cafe, Manny’s Express Sprigs, Taylor Street Market, and Red Mango.

CONCOURSE C: There is no availability of bars and restaurants at the concourse C.n restaurants or bar.

FAMILY FACILITIES:

You can easily get the services of family assisted facilities at the airport. All you need to follow is the signs at the different terminals and can easily avail these facilities.

CURRENCY EXCHANGE AND ATM FACILITY:

You can easily avail the currency exchange at the concourse A and ATM machines in concourses A and B of the airport.

TOURIST INFORMATION:

Tourists and travelers can easily obtain assistance from the Travelers & Immigrants Aid office located at the airport on the upper level of the terminal.

SMOKING:

Chicago Midway International Airport supports a smoke-free environment hence there is no separate smoking area available for the passengers.

MEDICAL FACILITIES:

At the Chicago Midway International Airport, defibrillators are available for your assistance in several locations which let the passengers get easy access to the medical services from any point in the airport. These units are in cabinets which are directly linked to the City of Chicago’s emergency medical services.

PRAYER ROOMS:

You can also find the Midway Airport Chapel which is located on the Mezzanine Level on Concourse C. You can find these inside the security checkpoint and above the triangle food court.

WI-FI FACILITY:

Every passenger can enjoy the free Wi-Fi access which is available throughout the passenger areas at Chicago Midway Airport.

LAPTOP TERMINALS:

You can also find the power stations accessibility here. If you are one of the business travelers, then these seated workstations have a lap table and an AC outlet to charge laptops and cellphones. You can find four to eight seating positions here located throughout Chicago Midway International Airport. Along with that, the each unit has also the wheelchair accessible workstation.

AIRPORT LOUNGES:

You won’t find any airport lounges at Chicago Midway International Airport.

TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES:

  • TRAIN:

You can get an easy access to the Chicago Transit Authority’s Orange Line train services which links the Chicago Midway International Airport with downtown Chicago. These trains run seven days a week and the timings linked to it are 4 am until 1 am in the next morning. You can purchase the ticket for the train at the airport station only which is located alongside the airport across Cicero Avenue.

  • TAXI:

Taxi services are available outside the main terminal and can be easily accessible by the passengers. Along with that, the Shared-ride vehicles are also available.

  • BUS:

Various shuttle companies serve their services at the Chicago Midway International Airport. The shuttles offer the door-to-door service to and from the airport and leave the airport every 15 minutes. The timings linked to it are between 6:00 am and 11:30 pm. The pick-up of the passengers is done at the front of the main terminal building.

  • CAR RENTAL:

You can get easy access to the Car rental services at the Chicago Midway Airport which provides access to a variety of car rental firms like Alamo, Hertz, Avis, Dollar, Budget, National, Thrifty and others. The car rental offices are located inside the terminal on the lower level and you can get access of the rental car pick-ups and drop-offs on the Level 2 of the Midway Airport Parking Garage.

REVIEWS OF CHICAGO MIDWAY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT:

Jacob Spence:

Chicago Midway airport was clean and properly maintained. Since it is not as crowded as the other airport in Chicago and the lines were shorter and there is no need to worry about being late to a flight because of long lines. If you get there late, then also you can go through everything quickly. In short, it is a very nice airport to have a good experience before flying.

Gregory Morrow:

TSA staff was courteous and efficient, and screening went quickly. There are plenty of concessions and toilets were also clean. Not so long ago, Chicago Midway Airport was something of a dump but now it offers pretty pleasant flying experience.

Lee Ho Seok:

I recently flown in and out of the Chicago Midway International Airport as well as transited through this airport. It won’t be the best airport in the world but yes may be better than many other U.S. airports. I cannot say much about check-in times as check-in at the airport was avoided due to web check-in but the security checkpoint sometimes could form quite a bit of queue. Anyhow, the lines are processed relatively fast so there is no need terrified at the scene. The Airside seems to be better as compared to the landside. The concourses are quite spacious with several eateries and other shops. The concourses and the restrooms are clean. The only drawback was that there is no free Wi-Fi facility but power outlets are abundant. The orange line connects MDW with downtown so at least a reliable option is there. Probably, I had a good experience here.