Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) is the world’s busiest airport by aircraft movements, although it does not hold the same position when ranked by passenger traffic. The airport is also a major hub for United Airlines, which handles roughly 45% to 50% of its passenger and flight operations at ORD. The Star Alliance member flies to more than 200 destinations from Chicago, more than any other airline.
The airline has continued to adjust its network at ORD in recent months. Last month, Simple Flying reported that United had added 12 new routes from the airport, while also cutting certain services following the introduction of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA ) flight caps. We looked at the airline’s scheduled data to compare the routes it had planned to launch from ORD since the start of 2026 with its current schedule and found that ten routes have since been removed.
Most of the removed routes covered regional markets in Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. Notably, United had operated most of these services at some point in the past; several of them have been absent from its schedule for many years. The only exception is Tri-Cities Airport (TRI) in Tennessee.
The carrier had initially scheduled the new nonstop service to begin on June 8, 2026. However, on May 1, Tri-Cities Airport announced that the launch had been delayed until October 25. That date has since been pushed back again, and the route is now expected to begin in fall 2027.
| Destination | Notes | |---|---| | Central Wisconsin Airport (CWA) | Last served in January 2022; initially it was scheduled to begin in May | | Rochester International Airport (RST) | Last served in September 2021 | | Tri-Cities Airport (TRI) | New nonstop route; initially it was scheduled to begin in June but is now expected in 2027 | | Erie International Airport (ERI) | Last served in May 2023 (the airline exited the market due to pilot shortages) | | Marquette Sawyer Regional Airport (MQT) | Last served from Chicago in Feb 1999 (nonstop sector in 1992 and 1993) | | Capital Region International Airport (LAN) | Last served in January 2022 | | Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport (AZO) | Last served in January 2022 | | Champaign–Urbana Airport (CMI) | Last served in September 2018 | | La Crosse Regional Airport (LSE) | Last served in December 1991 | | Central Illinois Regional Airport (BMI) | Last served in October 2008 |
The routes appear to have been removed temporarily. The main reason is the FAA’s cap on flights at O’Hare, which was introduced to reduce congestion at the airport. The regulator limited arrivals and departures to roughly 2,708 flights per day, about 10% fewer than airlines had scheduled for the summer season. The order took effect on June 2 and was initially set to expire on October 24.
Since the routes removed from the schedule were due to launch during the summer, their start dates were pushed back to October. However, the FAA extended the cap in July through October 30, 2027, citing construction projects and changes to the airport’s airfield infrastructure that are expected to continue through summer 2027. As a result, many of the Midwest routes are now expected to begin in October next year.
A United spokesperson previously told Simple Flying, “Following the extension of FAA’s Chicago O’Hare flight schedule cap through October 2027, we are delaying the start of ten new routes announced earlier this year and removing them from our schedule. We’re working with impacted customers to find alternative travel options or provide refunds. We remain committed to providing important connectivity to these cities and hope to start service from Chicago once the FAA order expires.”
The flight cap has constrained United’s aggressive expansion at its largest hub. Aviation Week, citing OAG Schedule Analyzer data, reported that the airline removed more than 9,000 departures from its previously filed schedule between June and August, a reduction of around 7.6%. Despite the cuts, United’s schedule was still up by around 17% year over year in terms of departures.
This month, according to Cirium data, United is operating more than 19,200 flights from O’Hare, offering around 2.4 million seats, about 10% more than during the same period last year. New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA) is the busiest route from the airport by frequency, with up to 15 departures per day. Denver (DEN) follows with up to 14 daily departures, while Houston Intercontinental (IAH) has up to 12 and South Bend (SBN) has up to eight.
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