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December 23, 2018Chicago O’hare Intl Airport – Spotting Guide
- last modified on November 4, 2024
Chicago O’hare International Airport (ORD/KORD) is one of the busiest airports in the US and even worldwide and the biggest one in Chicago. It’s located 25km northwest of the citys downtown and was opened back in 1955. Originally the airport was opened as a companyairfield for Douglas during WW2, when they were building C54 aircraft here for the American forces. In 1945 the airfield became non-military and was named “Orchard Place”, which was the basic for the IATA-code, which is still used today -> ORD. But already 4 years later, the name was changed to “Chicago O’hare” to honor the navypilot Edward O’hare. During the 1950s Chicago’s other airport, Midway, were already too small for its grewing traffic, that’s why some traffic was hand over to O’hare and this airport was developed to the city’s main airport for the future. So back in 1955 the first scheduled flights started at ORD; first just the international flights and from 1962 on also the domestic ones and with this addition, Chicago O’hare became the world’s busiest airport in this time. With the time, more and more terminal(extension)s were opened and new runways were built at ORD and because of this, the airport handled almost 80 million passengers in 2017 all in all.
ORD offers a lot of cargo traffic and this one is quite various. You can see more common carriers like FedEx or UPS, but also some rarer ones like Western Global Airlines or asian carriers. The types are (depending of the airline) varying between B747s, MD11s, A300s and B777s.
The passenger traffic is also quite mixed as the cargo traffic. It consists mainly of American Airlines and United Airlines flights (with all their daughtercarriers), but apart form those ones, you’ll have a few more American carriers like Frontier, Spirit, Jet Blue or Delta and also smaller ones like Cape Air. On the other hand you’ll see some International airlines, too, mostly European ones like Lufthansa or British Airways. Apart from the European ones, you’ll also see some Latinamerican ones like Aeromexico or Copa, but also the ones from northern territories such as Air Canada. And last but not least, the Asians like Hainan, ANA or Korean Air Lines. All in all you can say, that the traffic is already quite varied for US airports and the best thing here is, you have many flights a day so a lot of new registrations, if you collect them!
Guide was written by Severin Hackenberger, Elliott Martin, Colin Brown and Tommaso dal Maso. Last Update: July 2024 – Spot 12 added
| Rating | |
| Movements |  |
| Airline Variety | |
| Photo Locations |  |
| Weather | |
| Airport Information | |
| Runways | |
| 04L/22R | 2461m x 46m Asphalt |
| 04R/22L | 2286m x 46m Asphalt |
| 09R/27L | 3432m x 46m Asphalt |
| 09C/27C | 3427m x 61m Concrete |
| 09L/27R | 2286m x 46m Concrete |
| 10R/28L | 2286m x 46m Concrete |
| 10C/28C | 3292m x 61m Concrete |
| 10L/28R | 3962m x 46m Asphalt |
| Terminals | |
| Terminal 1 | Most Star Alliance members (for example: ANA, Lufthansa, United) |
| Terminal 2 | Air Canada and Delta (with its daughter airlines) |
| Terminal 3 | One World members (for example: American, Iberia, Finnair, British Airways, JAL) as well as some domestic and more or less low-cost-carier: Alaska Airlines, Virgin America, Spirit Airlines, JetBlue |
| Terminal 5 | Most international longhaul, except the ones named above (for example: KLM and Aer Lingus). Also some international Star Alliance members (for example: Austrian and Swiss), eventhough they are normally seperated |
| Spotting Information | |
| Ladder | Not needed at the spots below and not recommended! |
| Car/Public Transport | Car is recommended as public transport is quite poor here. |
| Restrooms | In every publicly accessable building like restaurants or hotels and inside of the terminal building. |
| Drinks/Food | There are plenty of restaurants, shops and food courts nearby the airport, offering supply of food and drinks. Check the particular MISC box at each spot for detailed info. |
| Hotels | There are some hotels close to the airport as well as in in the further airport’s area and the downtown, of course. Some of the first mentioned offer a view onto the approaching aircraft, for further info just leave a comment unterneath this post and we’re happy to give you info about that. |
| Season | The time from October till March is quite recommendable, because the sun will stay on the southern side all time, so you don’t have to change spots and the light is also okay/good at noon. If you wanna spot some early arrivals, the summer will be better of course, but then you’ll have faster heat haze. |
| Security | Spotting in the United States is not always tolerated. There have been several reports from fellow spotters that police checks were performed.Please be also aware of following facts: The police is quite harsh of endangering the streets safety. If you are standing beside a street and you are visible to drivers, police may ask you to leave as you may distract drivers from keeping their attention onto the road traffic. Some police officers may react rude to our hobby as they suspect terrorism by photography of airplanes. Always stay polite and stay in car when a police officer stops for a check. Do not leave your car unless you are told to do so! The spots underneath are believed to be safe but check the MISC box for further info.
Spotterguide.net is NOT liable for any inconvenience and misbehaviour towards the police of fellow spotters. |
| Runway Usage | |
| General Info | Runway Usage here is quite unsystematic and it takes a long time to find some “rules” used here, but the information we provide below were collected during ~10 days of spotting and observing the traffic.
There is kinda rule for domestic (including most Canadian and some Mexican flights as well) arrivals between ~7:00 and ~21:00 up to an aircraft of a B737, which fits for ~90% of these kinda arrivals. Works of course only, if there are coming roundabout the same loads of aircraft from the directions, so they are spread consistently… 27/28 Arrival Usage: 09/10 Arrival Usage: |
| 04L/22R | Almost only departures and most of them domestic ones from here – mostly departures of narrowbodies (ERJ135 up to B737 is normal here). |
| 04R/22L | Rarely used and mostly during strong northern winds only. |
| 09L/27R | Often used during peaktimes. However, almost all Air Canada and JetBlue flights are landing here as well as a lot of Delta and American flights – mostly narrowbodies. You might also see some cargo arrivals here, if the aircraft are being parked in the northern cargo area (Korean Air Lines Cargo or Cargolux for example). |
| 09C/27C | This runway is used by average US carrier traffic (from DL 717 up to UA 777) normally without any obvious special rules. |
| 09R/27L | Normally this is the onliest runway used during the night and it’s the main runway for arrivals over the day as well, as ATC tries to get all arriving traffic onto this runway in calm times, that they can use 28C/10C for departures as well. Mostly used by Delta, United, Spirit, Alaska, Frontier and some international airlines with smaller aircraft like Copa, Internjet or Volaris. |
| 10R/28L | Very rarely used nowadays, that’s why we also can’t provide any selfproofed/selftested spots with own example shots. |
| 10C/28C | Normally all heavies (international and domestic) as well as almost all freighters are landing here. Apart from this a lot of smaller Americans and Uniteds up to a B737 and most small prop-aircraft like CapeAir or similar Cessnas arrive here. During calmhours this runway is kinda closed for arrivals, which are apportioned to 09R/27L then – if possible. You’ll might also see some freighters taking off from here, if possible between all those arrivals. |
| 10L/28R | Mostly used for departures, but its Usage is very rare. |
Shopping Center parking - 27R arrivals
| WHERE | This spot is no exact position, rather the area in the parking area(s) around here as your exact spot might vary due to the disturbing lightpoles or similar. However, you should have the best view from the parkin, which is located west of the “Target” supermarket and south of the “Residence Inn” hotel next to “Chestnut Street”. The parking can be reached best from “Lunt Avenue”. |
| WHAT | Arrivals onto runway 27R. |
| TIME | On early summer mornings or late evenings, which are mostly bettet for spotting here due to the lightposition. This spot is unuseable from October till April. |
| MISC. | No ladder needed and recommended as you should keep a low profile here, because you’re in public and on a kind of commercially owned territory. All facilities you might need during spotting can be found in the nearby supermarkets and hotels. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | XXX as we didn’t test it yet ourselves |
Unfortunately we can’t provide any example pictures from this spot, but pictures taken from here look like THIS.
Parking garage - 27L arrivals
| WHERE | This spot is located along the northern side on one of the upper floors of the Rosemont parking garage, which is located above and next to the “Parl Pl”. It can be entered easily via staircases, which are located at the parking garage’s northwestern and southwestern end – these staircases are easily to find from the “Parkway Bank Park Entertainment district”, a kind of collection of restaurants, snack stores and a cinema. Once you have entered the parking garage, just go up to the top floor, where the angle is better, but the wind is harder, or to the floor one before the top floor, where the angle is a bit worser, but the spot is more windprotected here. |
| WHAT | Arrivals onto runway 27L. 27C Arrivals are quite far away, rather just visible in the back. |
| TIME | From October till March all day, in summers from late morning till late afternoon. |
| MISC. | No ladder needed and recommended as you should keep a low profile as there are a lot of security cameras in this garage. Restrooms and food/drinks can be found in the nearby (and above mentioned) entertainment district or inside the nearby mall and hotels. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 150-400mm MD88 or B738 = 230mm / A319 = 270mm / Beech = ~350mm |
Both overview shots were taken from the top floor. For a detailed shot of the marked area on the shot below, please scroll down to the second overview shot:
Detailed view:
Delta Cargo - 10C/28C and taxiway movements, 10L/28R departures
| WHERE | This is one of the most popular spotting places at ORD as you get very close to the action. It is located on the Delta Cargo parking lot at the airport’s cargo complex, south of the terminals. A ladder is not recommend to use here. You can either photograph trough the fence or you climb up the ledge or walk on the lawn to clear the fence to your right. In this case 90 degree shots are not possible (see sample photos)! |
| WHAT | From here you could see all movements on runway 10C/28C and the nearby taxiways. 90 degree shots are only possible by shooting through the mesh of the fence. All 10L/28R departures can be photographed as well but be aware of heat distortion! |
| TIME | The best time to use this spot from October till March is all day, in summers from late morning till late afternoon for aircrafts in the normal runway direction. If aircrafts are turning onto taxiways or off them, the light situation might vary. |
| MISC. | More than an ID check and an expulsion normally don’t happen here! Keep a low profile here and stay away from the company properties – especially the one of Delta Cargo! |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 50mm up to 300mm lens should cover everything |
Company parking garage - 28C and 28R arrivals
| WHERE | This spot is located on the top floor (so the second floor here) of the parking garage, which is located next to a company building and can be reached best from “Foster Avenue”. The second floor can be reached the best with the help of the stairs, which can be found at the garage’s north- and southeastern end. Once arrived on the top floor, search your favourite position on it, which might vary cause of the disturbing lightpoles. You can park your car inside the nearby parking areas or easily by the roadside as it’s normally not possible to enter this garage on your own with your car. But there are many many possibilities to park your car at in the neighborhood. |
| WHAT | Arrivals on runway 28C. 28R too but very rare. |
| TIME | On early mornings or late evenings in summer only or on cloudy days. Not useable from September to April with light. |
| MISC. | There are quite a few restaurants and hotels in the area around the spot.No ladder needed and recommended as you should keep a low profile. Stay away from the security cams on the garage!
Why to prefer this spot to spot #3? |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 200-400mm B77W = 220mm |
Scott Street - 28R arrivals (rare)
| WHERE | This spot is located west of the “WallyPark Airport Parking” area at the northern end of “Scott street”. You can park your car by its roadside or in the nearby parking area. This spot was one of the most famous spots at ORD until the Arrivals onto runway 28R became very rare as the runway was kind of “transformed” to a departure runway. Since this point, the spot nearly “died” away, but we decided to list it anyway, because it might be good for 28C Arrivals and who knows, maybe we’ll see a reactivation of 28R Arrivals one day… |
| WHAT | Arrivals onto runway 28R, which became very rare. Arrivals onto runway 28C might be good as well form here, but nobody tested those ones yet. |
| TIME | Runway 10L/28R: From October till March all day, in summers from late morning till late afternoon. Runway 10C/28C: From October till March unuseable, but in summers on early mornings and late evenings. |
| MISC. | No ladder needed and recommended. The needed facilities aren’t that close here, so you have to walk ~3 mins to the nearest cafe/restaurant, where you find restrooms, food and drinks. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | Close ups taken with 400mm. Around 100mm for side on heavy shots |
Neighborhood - 28C arrivals
| WHERE | This spot is no exact location, rather the are around here in the neighborhood. We tested some different positions along the walksides here and the best one (in our opinion) was inside the “Scott Street” just after a streetkink and on the opposite side of a basketball field under two trees – this one is shown on the overview shot and marked on the map exactly. However, during midday you’ll have sun glare right there, during the period you can take your pictures, so you might move some meters up along “Scott Street” and spot from the spot after the junction with “Wilson Avenue” or from the walkside of this street (both marked as the ends of a blue line on the map). But the angle is a bit worser from the two mentioned alternatives. |
| WHAT | Arrivals on runway 28C. |
| TIME | From October till March all day, in summers from late morning till late afternoon. |
| MISC. | Nothing really nearby, nearest facilities are along Lawrence Ave. No ladder needed and recommended as you should keep a low profile. Most neighbors here are cool, just greet them and smile, but some might be suspect and ask you what you’re taking pictures off.
Why you should prefer this spot to #7? |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 70-350mm B744 = 140mm / A320 = 270mm / B738 = 240mm |
Schiller Park Metra station - 28C arrivals
| WHERE | This spot is no exact location, rather the are at the southern end of the parking area infront of the metra station “Schiller Park”.The spot can only be reached from “Ruby street”, which is running west of the metra station. You can choose your favourite position in this area here between all those lightpoles, but be AWARE of the LITTLE PONT next to the parking and the REGULAR USED RAILWAY ROAD east of the parking and the pont. |
| WHAT | Arrivals on runway 28C. |
| TIME | From October till March all day, in summers from late morning till late afternoon. |
| MISC. | Nearest facilities are along Lawrence Ave. No ladder needed and recommended as you should keep a low profile. Most pedestrians here are cool, just greet and smile, but some might be suspect and ask you what you’re taking pictures of.
Why to prefer this spot to spot #6? |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 100-300mm B77W = 135mm / A306 = 180mm / A319 = 250mm / ERJ145 = 290mm |
Gateway road - 10C arrivals
| WHERE | This spot is no exact position, rather the are along/near the “Gateway road”. Your exact position depends on some disturbing lightpoles and/or buildings. You can park your by the roadside as the street is quite calm, because it’s a dead end road, or in one of the nearby parking areas. The spot(area) can be reached best from “North York road”, which runs east of “Gateway road”. |
| WHAT | Arrivals onto runway 10C. |
| TIME | From October till March all day, in summers from late morning till late afternoon. |
| MISC. | No facilities nearby such as restaurants or similar and no ladder needed. This is private property but the staff is friendly and if coming to you and asking for your actions; stay friendly then and just explain him/her, that this is a peaceful hobby and you are just doing it for fun. Weekend visits are preferable as this is an area with lots of commercial buildings. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | XXX as we didn’t test the spot yet, but should be ~50-250mm |
Spot itsself looks like THIS and an example shot, taken from this spot, like THIS.
McDonald's parking - 27R arrivals
| WHERE | Another good spot is inside the McDonald’s parking, which is located on the corner of “Mannheim Rd” and “W Higgins Rd”. Just search your favourite position in the large parking area, some of which is for McDonald’s that has a stay restriction, but we’ve never seen it enforced and there are plenty of spaces which isn’t technically McDonald’s, there’s a grassy area facing the action and a few picnic tables for McDonald’s customers. |
| WHAT | Arrivals onto runway 27R. |
| TIME | From October till March all day, in summers from late morning till late afternoon, although the light is very harsh then during the time it is on this site. |
| MISC. | All things you need right there: shadow, food, drinks and restrooms. It is possible, that some people may come to you and ask for your actions; stay friendly then and just explain him/her, that this is a peaceful hobby and you are just doing it for fun. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 100-400mm covers all you can spot from here |
Gate Gourmet Recruiting Office - 28C arrivals, 10L departures
| WHERE | The location is on the car park next to Gate Gourmet Regional Recruiting Office. Take Mannheim Rd and turn left/right at the traffic lights on to Montrose Ave (first right after Lawrence Ave if coming from the north), take the second left in to the car park, and go to the far left corner and park. The angle for arrivals at locations 6 and 7 is better but from here you have a much better, undisturbed sight and you are closer to the action too. |
| WHAT | Arrivals on 28C cross slightly at an angle from right to left. 10L departures can also be taken here though most will be a little high. |
| TIME | From October till March all day, in summers from late morning till late afternoon. |
| MISC. | As this is a private car park you may be asked to leave but we’ve never seen it happen and this area of the car park is usually pretty empty, I have seen the police drive by but they have never stopped, The location is also approved by ORD watch. No facilities at the location. Closest restrooms and restaurants are along Lawrence Ave. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 50mm up to 300mm lens should cover everything. 10L departures up to 600mm |
Gage St - 27C Arrivals
| WHERE | This spot is simply located along Gage St serving some parking garages here between some trainlines and hotels. Stopping your car by the roadside here is no issue and then just locate yourself along the roadside here wherever you want. Rosemont train station is also quite close. You can get to the spot here from the train station by bus or walk (takes about 10 minutes: sidewalks and crossings are available). |
| WHAT | From here you can nicely see 27C arrivals. 27L arrivals will pass almost right over your head, the angle is not that nice. Spot #2 offers nicer views onto 27L arrivals. |
| TIME | From October till March all day, in summers from late morning till late afternoon. |
| MISC. | Nothing around here except fences and trains. Closest facilities are south of you close to spot #2. Police may come by and ask what you are doing: we were asked here, but simply explained that we photograph airplanes. They did not even want to see the pictures or said anything, just wished us a nice day. So spotting seems to be absouletly fine here. However, rather try to keep a low profile here at all times to be safe. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 150-400mm B777 = 200mm / B717 = 320mm |
Plateau - 10C arrivals, 28R/28C departures, Taxiway Z
| WHERE | Drive on Irving Park Rd until you got to the crossing with South Access Rd and turn into it. Short after the traffic lights turn left onto the working area. There are a lot of construction vehicles and workers. Drive carefully and slowly the road until you see a plateau where you can park and spot from. |
| WHAT | Best for arrivals on 10C and taxiway Z, heavy departures 28R and 28C. 10L/10R is visible but too far for quality shots (heat haze, see Etihad). Good light through the whole day in summer. |
| TIME | From October till March all day, in summers from late morning till late afternoon for runways. Taxiway Z from afternoon until sunset. |
| MISC. | Even this is a public space please contact the local spotter team before you go there and carry a high visibility vest with you. Fast Food restaurants nearby. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | Qatar 77W = 140mm, Frontier A320 = 155 mm, Atlas 744 = 100mm |
There is several spots not listed I use on a regular basis. The parking garage by Dave and Busters provides a good view over the airport. Security is hit and miss but is the best spot if they are on approach from the east. Another good spot is over by the Holiday Inn express off of Mannheim. There is a field you can drive into. Its not good for large planes if theyre landing on 27R however is not bad when theyre landing on 22R is on the other side of I90 from the Allstate Arena. Lower express drive is good for runway 27R/9L. Pan AM Blvd is not a bad road either as it gives views of planes landing or taking off from 27C/9C and 27L/9R theres a few parking lots you can stop at early morning especially on weekends off York road but again, you cannot see the runways at all and only see them once theyre in the air or on approach. If youre willing to pay for parking you can use any of the lots off of Bessie Colman DR however security once in a while will kick you out. The parking garage by the international terminal is new and idk if its good. I will be checking it out soon. If you get kicked out of dave and busters garage theres a metra lot across the way where you can still see them coming in but you cannot see the runway. theres very few spots around ord where you have a good view of the runway and that garage is the best one. I will say if youre using an apsc camera you will need a lens thats no less than 300mm if youre doing just approach and if youre doing take off/ground shots a minimum of 400-500mm on apsc.
Hi Wyatt,
wow, that’s a nice list. Please send us some exmaples pictures and directions/coordinates for all spots via mail: support@spotterguide.net
We would like to add them!
Thanks
Sev
Hy everybody –
do you have to apply for a permit to go planespotting at ohare ? for example I was in JFK months ago and right witin 2 minutes a security car stopped at my spot and asked all sorts of questions and for a permit.
What is the most comfortable place at Ohare ? easy reach with a taxi or public tarnsport ?
Are they harsh to foreigners , just likemy experience in 2 new york airports ?
thanks for your help.
Normally, you do not need a permit and they do not bother you. Best spots depend on the runway direction and what you are trying to shoot.
I suggest the Sheraton suites hotel, across the West Higgins Road from the McDonalds as an alternative of spot #9. From the guestroom of west side(but above at least 5th floor : at below 4th floor, the hotel’s trees and the airport facilities will interfere your sight) you can photograph the aircrafts parked at northeast cargo ramp; from the north parking lot of the hotel, you can take 9C-27C and 9R-27L departures if you head south, and 9L-27R arrivals if you head north.
Hi, can you please provide some photos and the details via our form https://www.spotterguide.net/guide-update-new/
Thanks, Julian
Which is the best for larger planes? (757-787, A330-A350)
Why is spot# 1 unusable from October till April?
It is backlit in winter. Only in mid summer the sun turns over.
-Julian
For spot #3 around the delta cargo area, is the space off limits for the public? Thanks!
We recommend to stay area which is mentioned in the description only.
-Julian
spot #12 is just insane TBH im suprised there is no security you can literally see the entire airport and ur on a hill like 30ft above the fence literally less than 1200 ft from 10c
Is there an address for this place or road name directions?
This is so true!
The number 3 spot is a bit backlit till afternoon in summer but good for night shot
Which ones would you recommend for summer?
I’m watching Chicago Flights YouTube on Chicago O’Hare. The video appears to be located near Foster Avenue and York Rd. Planes are landing on 9R and I see skylines of Chicago downtown in the background. (It is 11:47 pm CDT.) The camera is above the runway, elevation-wise, looking down slightly at taxing airplanes. Looking at the Google Map, York Rd seems to be at or below the runway level. I’m guessing the video is being taken from one of the buildings or from a small mound running between York Rd and the airport, just north of Foster Avenue. Is it legal, or even possible, to get up on that little mound and view runway 9R? Thank you in advance.
What lens would be good for the area under the lights under Vickstone Chicago