Mayor Brandon Johnson declared May 8 as “Midway Day,” a new annual observance recognizing the moment Chicago first entered the age of aviation. The designation, announced Friday by the Chicago Department of Aviation, commemorates the 100th anniversary of the day Chicago Municipal Airport, the airfield that would become Midway International Airport, opened on May 8, 1926.
The new civic observance arrives as Chicago prepares for a broader centennial celebration of Midway’s formal dedication scheduled for 2027, and as the city continues to position its airport system as one of its most important economic engines amid intensifying competition for global aviation traffic.
A City That Moved People, Goods, and Ideas
The announcement frames Midway not just as an airport but as a defining symbol of Chicago’s identity as a city of movement and connection. Located on the southwest side, the original Chicago Municipal Airport opened on a single 320-acre site and quickly grew into the busiest airport in the world by passenger traffic in the late 1940s, a title it would hold until O’Hare International Airport surpassed it in the 1960s.
“Chicago has always been a city that moves people, goods, and ideas,” Mayor Johnson said in the city’s announcement. “On May 8, 1926, that spirit took to the skies at Chicago Municipal Airport, which we now know as Midway. ‘Midway Day’ gives us a chance each year to celebrate that defining moment and the generations of aviation workers who have kept Chicago connected to the world ever since.”
Johnson’s framing places Midway alongside Chicago’s railroads and waterways as a foundational piece of the city’s economic infrastructure, a long-standing civic narrative the mayor has leaned on as he pushes Springfield for new revenue tools for the city.
From Carrier Pigeons to Modern Flight
The 1926 opening produced one of the more memorable symbolic moments in early American aviation history. According to the Chicago Department of Aviation, four carrier pigeons were released that day carrying a message to Washington, D.C., announcing the airport’s opening.
The release marked a deliberate transition from one of the oldest forms of airborne communication to the dawn of modern flight, an image that has been reanimated by city officials this week as a touchstone for the new observance. While May 8, 1926, represents Chicago’s first moment of flight at the airport, Midway’s facilities were not formally dedicated until 1927. The City of Chicago plans to mark that milestone with a centennial celebration next year.
Why Midway Still Matters
For Chicago, the airport system represents one of its most enduring competitive advantages. Today, Chicago’s airports, anchored by O’Hare International Airport and Midway International Airport, support hundreds of thousands of jobs across direct, indirect, and induced employment, according to the Chicago Department of Aviation. They also serve as critical gateways for travelers, commerce, and global trade in the Midwest’s largest economic region.
“Midway is where Chicago’s aviation story began,” said Chicago Department of Aviation Commissioner Michael McMurray. “From that first symbolic message carried by pigeons to the global connectivity we deliver today, Midway has played a foundational role in shaping our city’s growth. As we look ahead to Midway’s centennial next year, this new observance gives us a meaningful way to connect our history to the future we’re building across Chicago’s airport system.”
Midway today serves more than 20 million passengers annually and operates as Chicago’s primary low-cost carrier hub, with Southwest Airlines as its largest tenant. The airport’s compact footprint, just 8 miles from downtown, has made it a critical asset for domestic travel and a continuing point of pride for residents of Chicago’s Southwest Side.
Looking Toward the 2027 Centennial
The City has signaled that Midway Day will serve as a recurring lead-in to a broader centennial celebration in 2027, when the airport’s formal dedication turns 100. The observance is designed to highlight Chicago’s aviation origins, recognize the contributions of aviation workers, and inspire future generations to pursue careers in aviation, according to the official announcement.
Aviation careers have become a focal point for Chicago workforce development efforts in recent years, with the Chicago Department of Aviation partnering with City Colleges of Chicago, Chicago Public Schools, and union training programs to prepare workers for jobs in aircraft maintenance, air traffic control, ground operations, and airport management. The new observance gives the department an annual platform to highlight those pipelines.
Civic Symbolism in a Year of Big Decisions
The announcement lands at a moment when Chicago’s civic identity has been a recurring theme in Mayor Johnson’s public messaging. Earlier this week, the mayor traveled to Springfield to lobby state lawmakers for new revenue tools for the city and to push back against any potential move of the Chicago Bears to suburban Arlington Heights. Both efforts have been framed by his administration as fights to preserve Chicago’s status as a global hub for jobs, sports, culture, and infrastructure.
For longtime South Siders, the new observance carries a particular resonance. Midway sits in a part of the city that has long fought for civic recognition equal to that of downtown landmarks. Designating May 8 as Midway Day formalizes a piece of that legacy.
For the broader city, it offers a connection to a moment when four pigeons, four wings, and a brand-new airport made Chicago a player in the future of aviation, and made Chicago aviation a centerpiece of the city’s identity for the century that followed.
