News from down in my neck of the woods – looks like the Chicago Transit Authority will be installing flight information displays at the Clark / Lake train station for both O’hare and Midway. That’s convenient. Hopefully this spurs other stations and cities to do the same.
Thanks for the tip, Nauman.
Note: This is not an Onion article - this was reported in several more reputable newspapers (Chicago Tribute and NY Times)
It’s a bit strange this incident happen last fall and was only recently reported, yesterday.
Apparently it happened in daylight at 4:30pm, right before sunset, in Terminal C, Gate 17 and was first spotted by a United ramp worker who was directing traffic at the gate.
A flying saucerlike object hovered low over O’Hare International Airport for several minutes before bolting through thick clouds with such intense energy that it left an eerie hole in overcast skies, said some United Airlines employees who observed the phenomenon.
All the witnesses said the object was dark gray and well defined in the overcast skies. They said the craft, estimated by different accounts to be 6 feet to 24 feet in diameter, did not display any lights.
Though some people were upset the government was doing very little to investigate, a few people found it humorous.
“To fly 7 million light years to O’Hare and then have to turn around and go home because your gate was occupied is simply unacceptable,” said O’Hare controller and union official Craig Burzych.
Pretty interesting. I wish I’d been there to see it myself.
You can read about the details in the Chicago Tribune.
For those of you travel through Ohare airport AND fly United Airlines, please continue reading – otherwise you can stop now as this would be of limited value for you.
After some experimentation, I’ve found the fastest way to move through the lines at Ohare, Terminal 1.
Key Steps to Beating the Lines:
- Check-in to your flight the night before or early the next morning and print out your boarding pass
- Upon entering the terminal, go to the far end of the terminal to your left and use the BagCheckin Kiosks – the person behind the kiosks will specifically ask to see your printed boarding pass
- From there, use the Terminal 2 security line even if you are premier status as they usually open 3 security lines, non-frequent travelers believe this takes you to Terminal 2, and the security line supposedly only opens at 6am (but it’s actually 5:45am)
I was able to clear check-in and security lines within 10 minutes following the Labor Day weekend.
Pretty sweet.