Chicago O’Hare International Airport had a very bad week in mid-September 2026. Big storms caused many flight delays and cancellations there. By Thursday, O’Hare had more cancelled flights than any other airport in the world.
Why did storms at one airport cause problems for flights all over the country?
On Thursday, 17 September, strong thunderstorms moved over Chicago. The storms made it unsafe for planes to fly near the airport. Air traffic control had to stop many flights from landing at O’Hare.
O’Hare is one of the busiest airports in the United States. It is also a hub airport. This means many passengers change planes there. A small plane brings people from a small city to O’Hare. Then they get on a bigger plane to a bigger city. When O’Hare has problems, this affects flights all over the country.
The storms were not the only problem that week. One runway at O’Hare was also closed. A runway is the long road that planes use to take off and land. With fewer runways open, O’Hare could not handle as many planes as usual.
Air traffic control used a special plan to help. It is called a traffic management program. This plan slows down flights before they get close to a busy airport. Some pilots had to wait more than one hour before they could land.
By Thursday, O’Hare had the most cancelled flights in the world. Websites that track flights showed long lists of delays and cancellations. Many passengers missed their connecting flights. A connecting flight is a second flight that a passenger takes after their first flight lands.
Some passengers waited for hours in the terminal. Others had to find a hotel room for the night. Airlines said sorry to their passengers and tried to put people on later flights. But with so many delays across the schedule, this was not easy to do quickly.
Storms like this happen every September in the United States. Airports usually plan for bad weather with extra staff and backup schedules. But when a big storm hits a busy hub like O’Hare, the problems can still spread fast to airports across the country.
Check your understanding
-
What was the main cause of the flight problems at O’Hare on 17 September?
Strong thunderstorms on 17 September made it unsafe for planes to fly near Chicago, so air traffic control had to stop many flights from landing.
-
True or false: only bad weather caused the delays at O’Hare that week.
The storms were a big cause, but the article also says one runway at O’Hare was closed, which made the problem worse.
-
Why did O’Hare’s problems affect flights in other parts of the United States, not just Chicago?
The article explains that O’Hare is a hub: passengers connect from small planes to bigger planes there, so a problem at O’Hare affects trips that start or end far away.
- hub (noun) – a big airport where many passengers change from one flight to another. Typical use: “O’Hare is a hub airport.”
- connecting flight (noun phrase) – a second flight a passenger takes after their first flight lands. Typical use: “Many passengers missed their connecting flights.”
- traffic management program (noun phrase) – a plan that slows down flights before a busy airport, to keep the airport safe. Typical use: “Air traffic control used a traffic management program to help.”
For another week when many flights were cancelled across a whole airline’s network, read our article on the WestJet flight attendants’ strike.
CEFR Level A2 / ICAO Level 3
