Mission

The Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) is committed to enhancing the connectivity and economic development of the City of Chicago through the accountable administration and continued growth of one of the world’s largest and best airport systems, the dual hubs of O’Hare and Midway. The CDA’s mission is to provide safe, secure, efficient, environmentally sustainable, and passenger-friendly facilities that foster the growth of Chicago while working to ensure the economic opportunities created by Chicago’s airports can improve the lives of all Chicagoans, particularly the next generation. As steward of Chicago’s gateways to the world, the CDA remains forever committed to creating safe, passenger-centric facilities that reflect the rich, diverse and unique character of Chicago and its people.

CORE GOALS

  • Own responsibility for the passenger experience by clearly defining levels of service standards, monitoring and analyzing those standards based on key performance indicators, and taking action to deliver on and continually improve the passenger experience standards at Chicago’s airports.
  • Inspire the next generation of Chicagoans to pursue a career in the aviation field through new partnerships and a robust community outreach and educational program focused on encouraging young people from across Chicagoland to pursue careers as aviation professionals, while developing a system to track career progression among youths engaged by the department through these efforts.
  • Be a good neighbor to the communities that surround Chicago’s airports by continually engaging with local leaders and ensuring residents are equipped with information about the airport’s activities, operations and programs.
  • Think commercially by optimizing assets on airport property and in the terminal facilities, and monitoring and acting upon passenger delay and discretionary opportunity for expenditure, which grows non-airline revenue and decreases costs for airline partners.
  • Maintain a customer-first mindset, proactively responding to the needs of passengers, employees, airlines, tenants, and commercial operators by researching trends in aviation and developing methodologies to measure the airports’ performance among customers.
  • Focus on optimizing each decision for the entire Chicago value chain rather than individual processes, and ensure decisions are data-driven and focused on achieving one of the aforementioned core goals.

Department Facts

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