Portal:Chicago/Selected article/22
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Chicago Midway International Airport (IATA: MDW, ICAO: KMDW, FAA LID: MDW), also known simply as Midway Airport or Midway, is an airport in Chicago, Illinois, United States, located on the city's southwest side, eight miles (13 km) from Chicago's Loop. The airport's northern half is within the Garfield Ridge community area, and the southern half is within the Clearing community area. The airport is managed by the Chicago Airport System, which also oversees operations at O'Hare International Airport and Gary/Chicago International Airport. Midway is heavily used by low-cost carriers, such as AirTran Airways and Southwest Airlines, and to a lesser extent by legacy carriers, such as Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Northwest Airlines. Both the Stevenson Expressway and Chicago Transit Authority's "L" Train Orange Line provide passengers access to downtown Chicago. Chicago Midway Airport is the second largest passenger airport in the Chicago metropolitan area. In its 80-year history of passenger traffic, Midway Airport has had 21 incidents and accidents, and only one accident since 1976. Chicago Midway International Airport ranked third amongst large airports in the nation for "Best On-Time Arrival Rates" in June 2007, with 75.4% of all flights (8,087) arriving on time, a 3.8% increase from the previous year. Southwest is the dominant carrier at Midway, controlling 29 of the airport's 43 gates. Currently, the airline offers 227 daily departures to 47 destinations. AirTran is the second largest carrier, occupying 4 out of the 43 gates at Midway, and offering over 20 daily nonstop flights to 8 destinations; 6 of which are served year-round. In April 2008, after filing for bankruptcy in Indianapolis ATA immediately discontinued all flights. Currently the city is seeking approval from the current airline carriers to auction a lease for the operation rights of the airport to a private company. Such a lease is estimated to be valued at $3 billion dollars for the city. Approval by five of the seven carriers is required.
