As a Chicagoan, I find that our airports do lag behind other major airports in terms of design and modernity. But at least Chicago can claim that it’s the only US city currently where one can board a plane nonstop to every continent on Earth, besides Antarctica of course. Not even New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, or Atlanta can claim that although they may not be far behind.

Chicago’s Nonstop Flights

So where in the world could you fly direct from Chicago? Well taking a Chicago destination guide Chicago has recently got new airlines offering service to the Pacific and Africa. A decade ago this wouldn’t have been possible and it’s thanks to new planes and fuel efficiency that makes nonstop service possible.

Africa

This became one of the last continents for Chicago with Ethiopian Airlines offering direct service to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Asia

Chicago has direct service to many of the top Asian cities including Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul, Shanghai, Beijing, etc.

Europe

Obviously, Europe has long been established from Chicago with destinations to Paris, London, Vienna, Helsinki, Rome, etc.

Pacific

Chicago O’Hare does not have any direct flights to Australia but it now has one to New Zealand on Air New Zealand which is considered the same region.

North America

And obviously a lot of direct nonstop service throughout the US, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Latin America.

South America

Sao Paulo is the only nonstop service from Chicago on United Airlines. Perhaps a Rio de Janeiro or Santiago flight will be offered in the future?

Why Chicago?

Chicago specifically Chicago O’Hare has always been a well-traveled airport. It still is consistently one of the busiest airports, ranking 6th at the moment, and so I think airlines have always been attracted to Chicago. Chicago O’Hare sits in the middle of the country near a big city and offers many people with connections from Europe, Asia, etc. onwards to the rest of the United States. It also has a weird distinction for an airport where many US airlines have Chicago as their hub, making Chicago O’Hare a truly diverse airport.

Chicago is in rarified air as only Dubai, London, Doha, and Johanessburg have direct service to all 6 continents.

Resources

For updated destination guides from Chicago, I would check out the Chicago O’Hare Wikipedia. It’s regularly updated and has information on all airline and destinations offered from Chicago.

Check below for more related travel accessory pages or check my ‘What to Wear in Chicago’ page if you need help in deciding what to wear in Chicago.