I’ve traveled to Chicago each May for over 30 years for the National Restaurant Association trade show. Plus, working for large companies with major customers and events near Chicago, I’m a regular traveler to Chi-town. And now, we have two kids and grandkids who live there. While I didn’t always travel through Midway Airport, it is my airport of choice when Chicago is my destination.
Now, picking Midway Airport over O’Hare is about the same as choosing between dentists for a root canal. No matter your choice, you’re going to hate being there for at least 90 minutes. But, once you leave, hopefully it will be better.
If you get the impression that Midway Airport is not my favorite airport and you’re prepared to endure a bit of teenage-style whining from a 65+-year-old experienced airport traveler, read on. Otherwise, I encourage you to select our BLOG option and find something else.
Midway’s short runways require a final dive like a hungry bird of prey in pursuit of a tasty snack. Before the wheels touch the ground, give your seat belt a firm tug and lock your hands to your armrests.
Here are the best things I can say about traveling through Midway Airport. First, it’s closer to downtown Chicago than it’s big sister O’Hare. That makes it faster and cheaper to access the lakefront and Miracle Mile locations we generally associate with the Windy City. Second, Midway has a sort of rough, chip-on-its-shoulder functionality that is perfect for Chicago’s reputation as “The Second City.” And third is Southwest Airlines, the primary carrier at Midway.
Then there are the worst things about Midway Airport. First is Southwest Airlines, which once kept airfares low and flight announcements fun. But here, the “fun” of Southwest’s cattle-car chic simply amplifies all the airport’s sardine-can characteristics.
Second, is everything else, and that includes:
- Bone-jarring, tire-squealing, nail-biting landings. Midway’s short runways require pilots to glide on a long path, then make a final dive like a hungry bird of prey in pursuit of a tasty snack. Before the wheels touch the ground, give your seatbelt a firm tug and lock your hands to your armrests otherwise the reverse thrusters and full brakes may give your face a fast introduction to the seat back in front of you.
- Close calls in crowded airspace. No one will tell you this officially, but nearby O’Hare – the nation’s second busiest airport – seems to get all the good air routings. Thus, Midway flights often make twists and turns around that other traffic, resulting in some interesting routes, sightseeing and opportunities to make new friends. I’m sure it was my imagination, but one flight seemed so close to a larger plane that I could have reached out and shared the much-better in-flight snack from the equally-shocked international first-class passenger.
- The Orange Line. The walk from Midway Airport terminal to the Orange Line station is a long and winding path, mostly through a parking garage. Then you experience the joy of the Chicago L, with it’s aging, noisy, rickety cars and uncomfortable seats. Experienced Orange Line travelers often take the 20-minute ride to Roosevelt Station, then get a taxi to avoid the northbound turn and slow clockwise travel around the elevated loop from which the L gets its name. And if you want to join the local argument about L versus EL to refer to the train system, the CTA provided the definitive (or debateable) answer.
Now, if you’re feeling a bit stressed out about having extra time at Midway, here are five things you can do to kill time (rather than yourself!) and enjoy some relative quiet if you’re stuck in this purgatory between the city and your origination or destination:
- Experience the Battle of Midway. No, it’s not a scuffle among passengers about line position at the Dunkin’ Donuts kiosk, though that is a thing, too! Midway Airport’s name memorializes the World War II Battle of Midway, which occurred June 4-7, 1942 in the immediate aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor. A well-conceived and informative display on the walk over to the A Concourse commemorates the battle. The multi-media display provides some little-known information about Chicago’s role in the naval preparations for the Pacific campaigns. If you thought Navy Pier was just a catchy name for a lakefront entertainment complex, stop here to learn how it once was home to Lake Michigan aircraft carriers where farm and city boys trained to become heroic pilots. The display is easy to find, next to the Douglass SBD Dauntless dive bomber, now suspended from the ceiling after being pulled from the bottom of Lake Michigan, the result of a training flight crash.
2. Peace, Solitude and Yoga. TSA Pre-Check users exit security on Concourse C, and nearly all make an immediate left turn toward the hectic hubbub of Concourse B and Southwest departures. But turn right and it’s like escaping to an archipelago of near-deserted islands on this lesser-used concourse. If it seems as quiet as a church, you may have found the airport chapel, which indeed is located here, too. Ditto the Yoga Room, part of a 2014 airport upgrade that keyed in on a growing interest in fitness travel. Next door, a Mother’s Room offers privacy for nursing moms. And a few steps further down, a USO lounge is a home away from home for traveling military and their families. I once used Concourse C as my near-private traveling office, but now Frontier uses these gates.
3. “In Case You Missed It” Photo Tour. Over on Concourse A, beyond the Battle of Midway exhibit and hidden off to the left just beyond the restaurants is a small hallway that leads to the almost-secret gates 4A and 4B. Along the way is a great photographic collection of Chicago city landmarks, attractions and scenes, some of which I had never seen until walking this concourse. With a few extra minutes to flight time, you also may discover some of hidden Chicago to put on your visit list for a return trip.
4. Chicago Food Scene Refresh. A Covid-time restaurant refresh brought new options to Midway. Hometown McDonald’s is gone. Harry Cary’s occupies a mid-concourse space in Concourse A. Updated hometown offers include Cafe L’Appetito, imported from downtown and Lakeview. There’s Southside-based Home Run Inn Pizza. James Beard award winner and former Michelin-starred restaurant owner Takashi Yagihashi is the force behind Tabo Sushi, where you can watch your order be prepared. My favorite remaining option is Reilly’s Daughter, a sit-down Irish pub in the center food court area which doubled its size during the airport refresh. Plus, we usually get our carry-on popcorn at either Garrett’s or Nuts on Clark, where the lines are shorter than in-town stores. I also find the mid-concourse counter service locations to be both convenient and — well, ok, just convenient. But those locations also squeezed concourse traffic more, which affects the following activity.
5. Terminal Walking. Before we get on flights, we like to work off our energy with a brisk walk. Since Midway is a small and often-crowded airport beyond security, walking takes some ingenuity and determination. Our favorite walk avoids the most-crowded Concourse B. Instead, we walk up Concourse C, then track back to Concourse A. We turn left and walk down the hidden concourse to gates 4A and 4B, then return to the main Concourse A, and turn left to the end. One round-trip is just over one mile, according to my Garmin activity watch. If you add a circle of the crowded concourse B, that tacks on an extra ½ mile, but you better have the peripheral vision and cutback moves of a first-rate NFL running back if you want to move through the slow-moving leisure-travel crowds faster than a mobility scooter.
More on Midway Meals
While I’ve noted the food refresh, just be aware: Midway is not a food destination. Making a decision on any food outlet simply is hoping you choose the best of the bad options. While the outlets all have different names, they are all managed by a single catering company which seems to specialize in hiring grumpy people and then converting them to full-blown angry through bad practices and horrible management.
Chicago once was the home of the now-closed Ed Debevic’s, a 1950s themed restaurant where eternally-insulting waitstaff was part of the shtick. And along the Chicago River near downtown, Dick’s Last Resort remains as a themed dive where similarly-grumpy staff entertains with their attitude. By contrast, the attitude of Midway waitstaff at the sit-down restaurants isn’t an act – they genuinely hate their jobs and will let everyone in the restaurant know about it loudly and continually in the running exchanges they have among themselves and at your table.
Since Chicago is a great food city, if you can, eat before you leave the city or wait until you arrive there to avoid the long wait-monsters of Midway.
Chicago is a great food city. Eat before you leave the city or wait until you arrive there and avoid the wait-monsters of Midway.
