The world’s busiest airport in 2014 first opened on this day in 1955. Named after Edward “Butch” O’Hare, a World War II pilot who received the Congressional Medal of Honor for his heroism, the airport was originally an Air Force base and manufacturing center for military aircraft. Once commercial flights began taking off, operations at nearby Midway Airport, once the world’s busiest in its own right, began to decrease. Midway would eventually go through a series of renovations and become a secondary reliever airport for the region. 

Today, O’Hare is a major hub for Chicago-based United Airlines as well as American Airlines and Air Choice One. The airport offers direct service to 210 destinations with an average of 2,400 flights per day.

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Read more about the recent opening of a new runway and control tower at O’Hare