Oct 21, 2026 · 52 min · 17 segments
Crain’s residential real estate reporter Dennis Rodkin joins host Jeanne Sparrow to talk the latest news from the local market, including the impact of…
Dennis RodkinGuest
Jeanne SparrowHost
If you're a frequent traveler out of O'Hare, you can expect the current limits on flight numbers to stay in place for years to come.
United Airlines Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Nocellis says flight restrictions imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration will likely remain until O'Hare's massive terminal construction project finishes, which isn't expected until the early 2030s.
Crane's John Pletz reports the FAA currently limits United to around 600 flights a day at O'Hare to curb operational delays.
While those caps were officially extended through late 2027, Nocella warned on an earnings call today that airfield bottlenecks and ongoing construction mean the restrictions will have to stick around much longer.
The FAA declined to comment, but the Chicago Department of Aviation pushed back on the timeline, calling it premature to assume limits will last through 2034.
City officials say future extensions should depend on actual air traffic control staffing and operational conditions, not just the construction schedule.
For passengers, the ongoing work, part of a nearly $10 billion overhaul, already means longer taxi times on the runway as crews build new satellite concourses and replace Terminal 2.
Industry experts note that while the flight caps are good news for flight reliability and preventing massive delays, they deal a blow to Chicago's push for air travel growth.
DePaul University transportation expert Joe Sweeterman says the caps will slow down the city's momentum, forcing airlines to rely on larger planes rather than adding more flights to expand capacity.
If you're a frequent traveler out of O'Hare, you can expect the current limits on flight numbers to stay in place for years to come.
United Airlines Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Nocellis says flight restrictions imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration will likely remain until O'Hare's massive terminal construction project finishes, which isn't expected until the early 2030s.
Crane's John Pletz reports the FAA currently limits United to around 600 flights a day at O'Hare to curb operational delays.
While those caps were officially extended through late 2027, Nocella warned on an earnings call today that airfield bottlenecks and ongoing construction mean the restrictions will have to stick around much longer.
The FAA declined to comment, but the Chicago Department of Aviation pushed back on the timeline, calling it premature to assume limits will last through 2034.
City officials say future extensions should depend on actual air traffic control staffing and operational conditions, not just the construction schedule.
For passengers, the ongoing work, part of a nearly $10 billion overhaul, already means longer taxi times on the runway as crews build new satellite concourses and replace Terminal 2.
Industry experts note that while the flight caps are good news for flight reliability and preventing massive delays, they deal a blow to Chicago's push for air travel growth.
DePaul University transportation expert Joe Sweeterman says the caps will slow down the city's momentum, forcing airlines to rely on larger planes rather than adding more flights to expand capacity.
The rest of this transcript — segmented and speaker-labeled, so you land on the exact moment something was said
Search every transcript — by keyword, by phrase, or by meaning, across every show Radar indexes
Trends — what is surging across podcasts, measured against its own baseline
Alerts — when a name you follow appears in a newly indexed episode
No account is needed to search Radar.