As O’Hare expansion price tag climbs, airport’s two biggest carriers want project scaled back – or grounded

A rendering of the planned new Terminal 2, the “global terminal,” at O’Hare International Airport. When complete, it would allow travelers to transfer from a domestic flight to an international flight without traveling to Terminal 5, the airport’s current international terminal. (Studio Gang)

O’Hare Airport’s two largest carriers want to slow down, dramatically scale back or indefinitely ground the airport’s massive expansion project, including a global terminal and two satellite concourses now $1.5 billion over budget.

Ald. Matt O’Shea (19th), chairman of the City Council’s Aviation Committee, said high-stakes negotiations with hometown United and Dallas-based American Airlines have gone on for months. Those rival carriers — at loggerheads when the original agreement was signed in 2018 — are now joining forces.