Chicago Midway International Airport Guide

Contact information and flight status

• flychicago.com; 773-838-0600 (24 hours)
• Terminal maps
• Current departures
• Current arrivals

Checkpoint savvy

Busiest times: Weekdays 5 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Workarounds: None, Midway has one security checkpoint.

Depending on your airline and your status with TSA, expedited TSA PreCheck lanes may be available.

Parking

Parking information: 773-838-0756 (24 hours).

Most convenient: Hourly garage, $63/day. Daily garage, $40/day. Reserved parking also available, reservation fee of $10/day (in addition to parking/taxes/fees).

Least expensive: Economy Parking garage or lot, $15/day. Shuttle to airport.

Cellphone waiting lot: Located at 61st and Cicero, four blocks south of the airport entrance. Amenities: 150 spaces, two portable toilets.

Transportation to/from city

Most convenient: A 10-mile taxi ride to downtown Chicago will cost $28 to $30 and take about 30 minutes. Ride-hailing services, including Uber and Lyft, are permitted to serve. See more options.

Least expensive: Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) Orange Line to downtown. Fare: $2.25. Travel time: 30 minutes. See more options.

Wi-Fi and charging stations

Fee-based Wi-Fi service provided by Boingo. Several Wi-Fi kiosks are also available.

Power outlets: There are complimentary charging stations at Gates A3, A10 and near Gates B-10 and B-12.

Go local

Good choice for local gifts: Kids Works, Life is Good, Marketwalk Chicago (all in the Midway Triangle).  See more options.

Good choice for local food: Reilly's Daughter, Go-Go White Sox Bar & Grill (full-service restaurant, baseball memorabilia), Café Espresso Big Shoulders Coffee, DeColores, Tabo Sushi, Nuts on Clark.  See more options.

Tips and tidbits

Midway has a Yoga Room, Mother's Room and a USO center in the C Concourse. There are also 40 decorated rocking chairs and more than a dozen temporary and permanent art and history exhibits, including The Battle of Midway Memorial, an SBD Dauntless Dive-Bomber recovered from Lake Michigan, and a glass mural honoring the Tuskegee Airmen.

An indoor animal/pet relief room is on Concourse A, across from Gate A-5.

Nearby layover option

There are four miles of paved sidewalks around the airport's perimeter.

Your tips and picks?

Please share your time- and money-saving tips, favorite restaurants, bars and stores in comments below.

These guides are written by Harriet Baskas, who is the author of six books, including the airport guidebook Stuck at the Airport and a blog of the same name.