Survey Ranks O’Hare as Nation’s Worst Airport
By CBS Chicago | Local Chicago – Tue, Nov 22, 2011

CHICAGO (CBS) — A new survey ranks O'Hare International Airport the worst in the nation, and Midway doesn't fare too well either.

As CBS 2's Kris Habermehl reports, the "Worst Airports In America" survey by The Daily Beast ranks O'Hare dead last among 30 airports across the country. Midway is ranked seventh worst.

The report says O'Hare has the worst on-time performance, with 67.6 percent of arrivals and 70.3 percent of departures having been on time so far this year.

The survey says planes arriving at the airport are delayed an average of 18.8 minutes, while departing planes are delayed an average of 17.1 minutes. The average security line wait time is 9 minutes.

The Daily Beast also places the amenities at O'Hare at fourth worst in the country, giving O'Hare a score of 639 out of 1,000.

Midway International Airport fared slightly better, with 74.4 percent of arrivals coming in on time. But departures were just as bad as O'Hare, with 70.2 percent on-time performance.

The report says delays at Midway are not much better than at O'Hare. The average arrival delay is 14.2 minutes, while the average departure delay is 16.3 minutes. The average security line takes 7 minutes to get through.

Midway ranks toward in the middle for amenities, with a 684 out of 1,000, or No. 15 out of 32.

Holiday departure times — for President's Day, Easter, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and the winter holidays — were better than average departure times for both O'Hare and Midway. Holiday flights departed on time 72.1 percent of the time at O'Hare, and 76.4 percent of the time at Midway, the survey said.

The survey was not specific beyond the raw numbers, and thus did not specify exactly what is wrong with the amenities at O'Hare.

The rankings were determined by considering the 50 largest airports in the nation, and ranking them based on data points from the Bureau of Transportation, Flight Explorer, and the J.D. Power and Associates 2010 North American Airport Satisfaction Study.

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