CHICAGO – The Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) today announced its airline partners predict more than 1.4 million passengers will travel through O’Hare and Midway International Airports during the Labor Day travel period that runs from Thursday, August 29^th to Monday, September 2^nd.

More than 1.1 million passengers are projected to travel through O’Hare, while approximately 292,000 passengers are expected at Midway. Friday, August 30^th is anticipated to be the busiest day at both airports, with 263,932 passengers at O’Hare and 59,704 at Midway.

“Labor Day travelers can rest assured that the Chicago aviation community will be hard at work all weekend long to ensure the people who rely on our airports can get where they’re going safely and efficiently,” CDA Commissioner Jamie L. Rhee said. “We take great pride in seeing record passenger volumes at our airports, while at the same time embarking on ambitious capital programs that will transform both O’Hare and Midway over the course of the next several years. As always, we are ready and well-prepared to welcome visitors from around the globe to our City.”

Special airport entertainment is in place on Friday, August 30^th. Ticketed passengers can enjoy live, jazz music performances at O’Hare from 2:00 – 5:00 p.m. and at Midway from 12:00 – 3:00 p.m. These performances coincide with the 41^st Chicago Jazz Festival happening this weekend at the Chicago Cultural Center and other City venues. Additionally, Chicago children’s author Jerome Pohlen will be at Midway as part of the ongoing Summer Literature Fest.

The CDA and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) encourage arrival at the airport with enough time for screening; allowing two hours prior to flight departure for domestic travel and three hours for international travel.

For travel between terminals and parking lots at O’Hare, the CDA operates continuous shuttle buses to transport passengers between Terminals 1, 2, 3 and 5, and from the terminals to each economy parking lot, the Multi Modal and Metra O’Hare transfer station.

Visit flychicago.com to receive text messages on average wait times, information on flight times and real-time parking lot status updates.