I don’t know how many times I’ve been in this airport, I’ve lost count. Chicago is one of my favorite cities in the world and it was hop, skip, jump away from Kansas City, so there’s a lot of flying through MDW. Some of us on this blog are from Chicago or have family/significant others there, so we’ve all seen it dozens of times.
MDW is the little (although older) brother to O’Hare and from a convenience standpoint, it is much preferred. A, it’s quick (although security can be a nightmare). B, it has direct access to the Orange Line which I take for ~ 8 miles to the Loop downtown. C. it’s not O’Hare. I’ll save it for a blog post one day, but O’Hare has given me PTSD more than once.
It’s a manageable airport, 43 gates split amongst three concourses A, B, and C. Southwest airlines controls 34 of these gates out of A and B concourses. Delta, Volaris and something called Porter airlines operates out of A. C is for charter planes.
There’s a decent food court, with greek, pizza, a Potbelly. There’s also a McDonalds and Let Them Eat Cake, which sticks in my mind every time I walk by. You will smell honey roasted awesomeness from Nuts on Clark.
Remember: ✈️ = Bears at their worst to ✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️ = Cubs winning the WS in 2016
Convenience to the city: ✈️✈️✈️✈️ (take the Orange line directly to the airport)
Ease of navigating through terminals: ✈️✈️✈️ (it’s not very big, there’s moving escalators)
Convenience of check in/security lines: ✈️✈️ (sometimes it can take a very long time to get through this line, it’s very busy)
Dining: ✈️✈️ .5 (not bad for its size, but minus a point for closing SuperDawg)
Bathrooms: ✈️✈️
Charging stations/wifi: ✈️✈️ (free wifi NOT available)
Amenities: ✈️✈️ (airport shops are typical, there’s a yoga room, no lounges)