International arrivals and connections

Arriving at ORD from abroad, leaving on an international flight, or connecting between the two: passport control and customs, where international flights depart, and how much time a change between a domestic and an international flight needs. The guides follow what the airport and the border agencies publish.

• Arriving at O'Hare Terminal 5 from abroad

  How Terminal 5 international arrivals work: passport lines, bags, customs, re-check desks and the curb. O'Hare's traveler page lists no queue times.

  • Which passport line can you use?
  • Some preclearance flights go straight to domestic baggage claim
  • After passport control, you claim bags and then clear customs
  • If you’re connecting, re-check your bags before the next security line
  • Getting to Terminals 1, 2 and 3 for the next flight
  • Leaving Terminal 5: rides from the lower-level curb
  • If something goes wrong
  • Sources
• Changing between United or American and Delta at O'Hare

  Delta flies from Terminal 5, United from Terminals 1 and 2, American from Terminal 3. Bus and train routes, and what only your airlines can answer.

  • Your route, by pair
  • When the bus isn’t running
  • Bags and screening: what the airport says
  • What only your airlines can answer
  • Sources
• Connecting from an international flight at O'Hare: the steps in order

  Immigration, bags, customs, recheck, TSA again, then the train or bus to Terminals 1 to 3. O'Hare publishes no minimum connection time for any of it.

  • 1. Immigration comes first
  • 2. Bags, then customs and agriculture
  • 3. Recheck your bags
  • 4. Train or bus to Terminals 1, 2 and 3
  • 5. Screening, and what to pack where
  • What only your airline can answer
  • Sources
• Lounges in Terminal 5 at O'Hare: Delta, Air France and LOT

  Delta Sky Club near Gates M11 to M14, Air France near M17, LOT near M18. Hours, who gets in, and what to use now that the Swissport Lounge has closed.

  • Who gets into the Delta Sky Club
  • The Air France Lounge adds Priority Pass, with a gap at midday
  • The LOT lounge has no hours or phone number listed
  • Wingtips, and the closed Swissport Lounge
  • Sources
• The O'Hare terminal train: Terminal 5 to Terminals 1, 2 and 3

  The Airport Transit System joins Terminals 1, 2, 3 and 5 at no charge, about 10 minutes end to end. A ride from Terminal 5 ends at a TSA checkpoint.

  • Where the ATS stops
  • How long the ride takes
  • When the ATS is your only choice
  • Wheelchairs and the ATS
  • Past the terminals: Blue Line, rental cars and Metra
  • Sources
• The Swissport Lounge at O'Hare has closed: who can use Wingtips instead

  Priority Pass lists the Swissport Lounge as permanently closed. Which airlines Wingtips lists, how Priority Pass works at Terminal 5 now, and where to find the lounges.

  • Which lounge takes your airline
  • Priority Pass: Wingtips, up to three hours before departure
  • Where Wingtips is: near Gate M19
  • Hours
  • Getting there from another terminal or a landing
  • No day pass is listed for Wingtips
  • Sources
• The Terminal Transfer Bus at O'Hare: who can ride it and when

  The secure-side bus between Terminal 5 and Terminals 1 and 3 takes connecting passengers with a same-day boarding pass, 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

  • Who counts as connecting
  • Where the bus leaves from
  • When the bus isn’t running
  • What the airport doesn’t say
  • Sources