ORDAirport Guide

Connecting through O'Hare on United: how it works

United flies from Terminals 1 and 2 at O'Hare. Connect between them on the secure side with no re-screening, and see what only United can tell you.

White steel columns, diagonal struts and the arched glass roof of a Terminal 1 concourse at O'Hare.
Terminal 1 concourse columns, O'Hare

United flies out of Terminals 1 and 2 at O’Hare. A domestic connection between them is a walk on the secure side with no second security screening. Your gate comes from United: the airport’s connecting page doesn’t name United’s gates, and its airlines page sends you to each airline’s website for flight updates. A B or C gate means Terminal 1, and an E or F gate means Terminal 2.

Your connection How you get there Another security screening?
Domestic to domestic, Terminals 1, 2 or 3 Follow the overhead signs between the domestic terminals No
Domestic to or from Terminal 5 Terminal Transfer Bus from Terminal 1, Gate C18B, 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., with a same-day boarding pass No, during those hours. Outside them, leave security, ride the Airport Transit System and clear a TSA checkpoint
International into Terminal 5, no preclearance, to Terminal 1 or 2 Claim and recheck your bags, then ride the Airport Transit System Yes, at the terminal you ride to
Preclearance flight into Terminal 5 to Terminals 1, 2 or 3 Terminal Transfer Bus from Terminal 5, Gate M13, 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., with a boarding pass. The bus page lists no Terminal 2 stop, so for a Terminal 2 gate ride to Terminal 1 or 3 and walk the secure side No

Terminals 1 and 2, with a United lounge on all four concourses

Terminal 1 has Concourses B and C, with gates B1 to B24 and C1 to C31. You clear security at Checkpoint 1 (3:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.), Checkpoint 2 (4 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.) or Checkpoint 3 (3:45 a.m. to 8 p.m.). Terminal 2 has Concourses E and F, with gates E1 to E17 and F1 to F28. It has one checkpoint, Checkpoint 5, open 3:15 a.m. to 11 p.m.

The airport lists United Clubs at:

  • Concourse B: Gates B6 and B18
  • Concourse C: Gate C10
  • Concourse E: Gate E7
  • Concourse F: Gate F9

The United Polaris Lounge, for international first and business class customers only, is near Gate C18.

The airport’s airline directory lists United at Terminals 1 (Departures) and 5 (International Arrivals). Its terminal map shows United check-in lobbies in Terminal 1, on the Departures level, and in Terminal 2.

Between United flights, you walk

Follow the overhead signs between terminals. Our Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 pages show each concourse’s gates and checkpoint, and the connections page covers the Terminal Transfer Bus.

When the train and the bus come in

Terminal 5 has no walkway to the other terminals on the secure side. The Airport Transit System reaches it free and runs 24 hours a day. Trains come every 3 to 5 minutes at peak times. The whole line, from Terminal 1 to the Multi-Modal Facility, takes about 10 minutes. The Terminal Transfer Bus is the alternative if you hold a boarding pass for a same-day flight from the terminal you’re riding to, and it keeps you on the secure side. It runs every 15 minutes.

Arriving from abroad at Terminal 5

International flights that clear Customs and Border Protection at O’Hare arrive in Terminal 5. The airport says to claim every bag after immigration, even a bag checked through. It adds that immigration and customs rarely take more than two hours.

If your bags are checked through to your final stop, hand them to an airline attendant at the recheck counters directly outside the customs area. If they aren’t and your next flight is on United, you can recheck them with an airline employee right after the customs area, so you don’t carry them to the domestic terminals. Our baggage page lists the United recheck counter on Terminal 5’s arrivals level.

Then ride the free Airport Transit System to Terminal 1 or 2 and clear TSA screening there. The checkpoints in Terminals 1 and 2 follow the hours above, so check them if you land late. Terminal 5’s Checkpoint 10 is open 24 hours.

Passengers from a preclearance airport clear U.S. customs before they depart. The airport says a number of international destinations preclear, including several in Canada and Ireland, but it names no airports. Some of these flights land in Terminal 5. The airport’s International Traveler page says the bus takes those passengers to Terminals 1, 2 or 3 without re-screening, but its bus page lists stops only at Terminals 1, 3 and 5. For a Terminal 2 gate, ride to Terminal 1 or 3 and walk the secure side. Others land in Terminals 1, 2 or 3 directly.

Where United’s baggage offices are

The airport’s map places United’s baggage service office on Terminal 1’s Arrivals and Baggage Claim level. On Terminal 2’s arrivals level the map shows offices for Air Canada and Alaska Airlines and none for United. If a bag goes missing after you land in Terminal 2, ask United which office handles it before you walk over.

What only United can tell you

  • Connections on two carriers. The airport tells these passengers to contact their airlines and publishes no rules of its own.
  • Your minimum connection time. Neither the airport’s connecting pages nor its terminal pages give one, so ask United or check your booking.
  • Whether your bag is checked through. For a domestic connection, the airport’s pages don’t say. Ask at check-in.

Sources