ORDAirport Guide

Dropping off and picking up at O'Hare

Drop off on the upper level, pick up at the outermost lower curb. Curb waiting gets you towed, so use the free cell phone lot on Bessie Coleman Drive.

The blue sign at the free cell phone waiting lot at O'Hare, with the airport control tower and terminal on the horizon.
Cell phone lot, O'Hare

Drop off upstairs at Departures and collect from the outermost curb on the lower level at Arrivals. O’Hare prohibits curbside waiting, and it tickets and tows an unattended car at the owner’s expense. If you’re early, wait in the free cell phone lot at 560 North Bessie Coleman Drive until your passenger calls.

Dropping off: the upper level, at your airline’s terminal

Signs at the airport entrance say which terminal each airline uses, and our airlines page shows where each carrier checks in. Terminals 1, 2 and 3 share one set of roadways, while Terminal 5 is signed separately off I-190 toward Mannheim Road.

Wheelchair help comes from the airline, so call it before the day. The loading zones have curb ramps.

Picking up: the lower level, outermost curb

If a car does get towed, the airport’s drop-off page doesn’t say where it goes or how to get it back. The Parking Garage Office at (773) 686-7530 is the airport’s number for vehicle assistance and booted cars.

Getting to the cell phone lot

The airport says the cell phone lot spares you from circling the roads if you arrive early or your passenger lands late. Its drop-off page gives no hours, no space count and no drive time from the lot to the curb.

Where you’re starting Route to the lot
Chicago Take the Bessie Coleman Drive exit and keep going to the lot
Mannheim Road Merge onto I-190 West, take the Bessie Coleman Drive exit and continue
Terminals 1, 2 or 3 Stay on I-190 East, take the exit toward Mannheim Road and Terminal 5, use the left two lanes, turn left onto Bessie Coleman Drive, go 0.2 miles and turn right
Terminal 5 Head north on Bessie Coleman Drive for 0.3 miles and turn right

When the lot or the curb doesn’t fit

You can also park at the Main Garage or the Terminal 5 garage, or use Kiss ‘n’ Fly:

Option Cost Limit
Main Garage hourly parking, Level 1, next to the domestic terminals $3 up to 1 hour, $6 up to 2 hours, $10 up to 3 hours Meant for stays under three hours
Terminal 5 garage $3, $6 and $10 on the same hourly steps, then $14 up to 4 hours Joined to Terminal 5 by an enclosed pedestrian bridge
Kiss ‘n’ Fly The drop-off page lists no fee 15 minutes in the lot

Kiss ‘n’ Fly is at the Multi-Modal Facility, off Mannheim Road and Zemke Boulevard. The airport’s drop-off page puts it on the northeast corner and its Multi-Modal Facility page on the northwest corner, reached through Door 6. The airport says it suits travelers reaching O’Hare from the north and northwest suburbs. From I-190, take Exit 2A (the Mannheim Road north ramp) to Zemke Boulevard, turn right at the light, then right again at the first stop sign.

Your passenger reaches it by the Airport Transit System, which runs from Terminals 1, 2, 3 and 5 to the facility, where you’re waiting.

If your passenger is taking Uber or Lyft

Rideshare pickup is upstairs at Terminals 2 and 3, and the poles differ between them. Terminal 2 uses orange poles marked 2A to 2G, with an indoor waiting area between vestibules 2A and 2D. Terminal 3 uses green poles marked 3G, 3H, 3J and 3K. Black car pickups stay on the lower level of every terminal.

The airport’s taxi and rideshare page names no zones for Terminals 1 or 5, so a passenger there should follow the pickup point the app gives.

Sources