MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of the Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) is to enhance the economy and connectivity of Chicago through the accountable administration of O’Hare and Midway airports. The CDA is continually committed to fostering economic growth and ensuring that its airports are safe, sustainable, accessible, and reflect the city's diverse and unique character.

CORE GOALS

• Own responsibility for the passenger experience by clearly defining levels of service standards, monitoring and analyzing those standards based on key performance indicators, and taking action to deliver on and continually improve the passenger experience standards at Chicago’s airports.
• Inspire the next generation of Chicagoans to pursue a career in the aviation field through new partnerships and a robust community outreach and educational program focused on encouraging young people from across Chicagoland to pursue careers as aviation professionals, while developing a system to track career progression among youths engaged by the department through these efforts.
• Be a good neighbor to the communities that surround Chicago’s airports by continually engaging with local leaders and ensuring residents are equipped with information about the airport’s activities, operations, and programs.
• Think commercially by optimizing assets on airport property and in the terminal facilities, and monitoring and acting upon passenger delay and discretionary opportunity for expenditure, which grows non-airline revenue and decreases costs for airline partners.
• Maintain a customer-first mindset, proactively responding to the needs of passengers, employees, airlines, tenants, and commercial operators by researching trends in aviation and developing methodologies to measure the airports’ performance among customers.
• Cultivate a workplace culture that reflects the richness of human diversity, provides equal opportunities for all, and embraces inclusivity as a cornerstone of our success.
• Focus on optimizing each decision for the entire Chicago value chain rather than individual processes, and ensure decisions are data driven.