ORDAirport Guide

Can you walk between O'Hare terminals after security?

Yes between Terminals 1, 2 and 3, which join on the secure side. Terminal 5 needs a bus or the train. The airport's transfer pages give no walking times.

The sunburst ceiling and the lit ROTUNDA fascia of the Rotunda between Terminals 2 and 3 at O'Hare, seen from the floor.
The Rotunda, Terminal 3

Yes, between Terminals 1, 2 and 3. They have pedestrian connections on the secure side, so you don’t clear security again. Terminal 5 has no such connection. The airport publishes no walking times or distances for these routes on its connecting, transfer-bus or train pages.

Terminals 1, 2 and 3 join on the secure side

The airport says to follow the overhead signs between the domestic terminals, and that you don’t have to leave the secure side and take the train for these three.

Our Terminal 1, Terminal 2 and Terminal 3 pages show each concourse’s gates and where its checkpoints are. If your two flights are on different carriers, the airport tells you to contact your airlines.

Terminal 5 needs the train or the bus

The Airport Transit System is the airport’s route between Terminal 5 and Terminals 1, 2 and 3. It’s free and runs 24 hours a day. Trains come every 3 to 5 minutes at peak times, and the whole line from Terminal 1 to the Multi-Modal Facility takes about 10 minutes.

The Terminal Transfer Bus is the way to stay on the secure side. It runs every 15 minutes from 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., and you need a boarding pass for a same-day flight from the terminal you’re riding to. It has four stops in three terminals:

  • Terminal 1, Gate C18B. Construction moved this stop from Gate B1.
  • Terminal 3, Gates G17 and K20.
  • Terminal 5, Gate M13.

The bus has no Terminal 2 stop, so from Terminal 2 you walk to a Terminal 1 or 3 stop first. Outside those hours, the airport says you exit security, board the train and get rescreened at a TSA checkpoint.

Checkpoint hours where you land

The airport says day-to-day airport activities can affect these hours and sends you to your airline for the day of your flight.

Terminal Checkpoint Listed hours
Terminal 1 (Concourses B, C) Checkpoint 1 3:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Terminal 1 (Concourses B, C) Checkpoint 2 4 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Terminal 1 (Concourses B, C) Checkpoint 3 3:45 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Terminal 2 (Concourses E, F) Checkpoint 5 3:15 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Terminal 3 (Concourses G, H, K, L) Checkpoint 6 3:45 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Terminal 3 (Concourses G, H, K, L) Checkpoint 7 3:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Terminal 3 (Concourses G, H, K, L) Checkpoint 7A 3:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Terminal 3 (Concourses G, H, K, L) Checkpoint 8 4 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Terminal 5 (Concourse M) Checkpoint 10 24 hours

Our security page has the PreCheck and CLEAR hours.

On an international arrival from a non-preclearance airport, you clear customs in Terminal 5 and claim your bags, and every connecting passenger goes through TSA screening again. Our international connection guide gives the steps in order.

Getting help on the way

Travelers Aid volunteers staff information desks on the secure side at:

  • Terminal 1: Gates B6 and C18
  • Terminal 2: Gate F4
  • Terminal 3: Gate K2
  • Terminal 5: near Gate M15

Our information desks page lists their hours.

If walking is hard for you, each airline offers wheelchair assistance for traveling to or transferring between gates. Arrange it with your airline before you travel. In Terminals 1, 2 and 3, airline staff are in the ticketing areas, and some work curbside. In Terminal 5, go to your airline’s own counter.

You can reach the airport’s accessibility coordinator at (773) 894-3728, Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central time. For help at security, TSA Cares is on (855) 787-2227, best called 72 hours ahead. Our accessibility page lists the airport’s accessibility services, and our wheelchair assistance guide covers how to arrange assistance with your airline.

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