Chicago O’Hare (ORD): Stats & Tips

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Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) is one of the busiest travel hubs in the world and the second-largest airport in the U.S. for departures, averaging 350,000 departures annually. With tens of millions of passengers flying each year, ORD plays a critical role in both domestic and international travel.

Below, we’ll break down the latest airline performance, passenger trends, delay statistics, and the most popular destinations served by O’Hare. O’Hare is a gateway to the world, handling more than 2,500 flights per day and connecting millions of travelers to major destinations.

 

Airline Performance at ORD (Jan–Aug 2025)

The top three airlines for arrivals at O’Hare in 2025 are United Airlines, SkyWest Airlines, and American Airlines.

 

Airline	Total Flights	On-Time %	Delayed %	Canceled %
United Airlines	37,176	79.52%	19.74%	0.48%
SkyWest Airlines	22,454	72.82%	25.18%	1.52%
American Airlines	20,287	74.90%	23.51%	1.22%

 

Passenger Traffic at ORD

O’Hare continues to be a passenger powerhouse, showing strong recovery after the pandemic.

• 2024: 80.04 million passengers (8.3% increase from 2023)
  • Domestic: 65.53 million (81.9%)
  • International: 14.52 million (18.1%)
• 2025 (Jan-Aug): Nearly 42.5 million passengers
  • Domestic: 29.38 million (69.05%)
  • International 13.16 million (30.94%)

 

 

O’Hare Flight Delays & Cancellations

Like any major airport, delays are part of the experience at ORD from January 2024 to August 2025.

Reasons	Change of Flight Changes
Overall On-Time Performance	81.95%
Aircraft Arriving Late	4.94%
NAS (Air Traffic Control) Delays	3.29%
Weather Delays	0.41%
Average Delay Duration	46 - 78 minutes
Flight Delay Times (>15 Mins)	38% of departures
Canceled Rate	1.01%

 

Best and Worst Times to Fly from ORD

• Lowest Delays: Morning (5 AM–11:59 AM)
• Highest Delays: Nighttime (9 PM–5 AM)
• Peak Delay Month: June
• Least Delays: October

 

 

Busiest Routes from Chicago O’Hare

These are the most common routes and often can be the cheapest or most expensive routes, depending on when you are traveling.

 

Top Domestic Destinations

Destinations	Passengers
New York City	1.32M
Los Angeles	1.17M
Denver	1.05M
Dallas/Fort Worth	953K
San Francisco	932K

 

Top International Destinations

Destinations	Passengers
London (LHR)	1.09M
Toronto (YYZ)	910K
Cancún (CUN)	875K
Mexico City (MEX)	757K
Frankfurt (FRA)	676K

 

 

Travel Tips for Flying Through O’Hare

• Track Your Flight in Real Time – Use a flight tracker app to monitor any changes before heading to the airport.
• Book Morning Flights – Early flights have the lowest delay risk.
• Stay Ahead During Summer Travel – July is the peak delay month, so allow extra time for connections.
• Contact Your Airline or Travel Agent Quickly – If a delay or cancellation happens, you’ll have better rebooking options if you act fast.
• Know Airport Resources – ORD offers real-time updates on its website and mobile app.
• Use PreFlight Airport Parking to get to the airport with convenience and the best off-airport parking rates!

 

 

Citations

• Flight Delay Predictor. (2025b, September 10). Chicago o’hare (ORD) flight delays: Midwest Hub & Tips. FlightDelayPredictor. flight-delays 
• Flights. Bureau of Transportation Statistics. (n.d.-a). Flights 
• OT delay. BTS. (n.d.-a). OT_DelayCause 
• Passengers. Bureau of Transportation Statistics. (n.d.-b). Passengers 
• Performance. Bureau of Transportation Statistics. (n.d.-c). Performance 
• Chicago o’hare International Airport, Chicago Ord Airport | Airportia. (n.d.-b). airportia 
• Chicago o’hare International Airport Statistics 2024. Road Genius. (n.d.-a). ohare-ord-airport