Good Riddance: The Worst Airport Lounge In The United States Closes

The Swissport Lounge at Chicago O’Hare Airport (ORD) Terminal 5 has just quietly closed. I’m about as sad as I’ll be on the day when Delta retires its latest Boeing 767-300ER… Swissport Lounge Chicago O’Hare Terminal 5 closesChicago O’Hare Terminal 5 lounges are improvingBottom line Swissport Lounge Chicago O’Hare Terminal 5 closes Historically, Chicago O’Hare Terminal 5 has been a pretty lousy facility, though it has started to get better in recent years, thanks to an expansion to the terminal, and also thanks to the opening of new lounges. Arguably the single most disappointing thing about Terminal 5 was the Swissport Lounge, which I’ve labeled the worst lounge in the United States — clearly many people agreed with me, since my review of the lounge had over 200 comments. It’s just truly one of those facilities that makes you wonder why we even bother using lounges. Swissport Lounge Chicago The lounge had no windows, the most random collection of furniture, and a very limited selection of drinks and snacks. Unless you wanted to just guzzle alcohol, you’d be better off sitting in the terminal, in my opinion. Unfortunately for all too long, many premium airlines sent their customers here, given the lack of other lounge options. It’s quite underwhelming to be flying business class on a carrier like Etihad Airways or Qatar Airways, and then be sent here. That brings us to the interesting update — the Swissport Lounge Chicago has closed as of October 31, 2026, so passengers are no longer being subjected to this facility. It remains to be seen what happens with this lounge space, as that hasn’t been announced one way or another. In April 2025, Swissport’s head of North America lounges said that the company had “submitted a proposal to the Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) for a multi-million-dollar renovation and expansion of our current Terminal 5 lounge at O’Hare International Airport.” However, I haven’t been able to find any updates on that, so I’m not sure what the latest is there. Swissport Lounge Chicago Chicago O’Hare Terminal 5 lounges are improving It’s worth acknowledging just how much better the lounge situation at Chicago O’Hare Terminal 5 has gotten in recent years: In 2022, we saw Delta’s new Sky Club open, which immediately became the best lounge in the terminal In 2024, we saw LOT Polish Airlines’ new lounge open, which also looks beautiful, and is used by Star Alliance carriers, as well as some other airlines In 2025, we saw Air France’s new lounge open, which is another great option with lots of natural light, and it’s also open to Priority Pass members over select hours On top of that, there used to be the Scandinavian Airlines Lounge, which has since been rebranded as the Wingtips Lounge, and the good news is that it’s now open to Priority Pass members If we get another lounge at Terminal 5, that would of course be awesome, so I’m curious to see how this evolves. Chicago O’Hare is the biggest airport in the country to not have any sort of a credit card branded lounge, so I hope that eventually changes. The issue is the extent to which the terminals are dominated by their primary tenants (American and United), combined with the lack of airside connections to Terminal 5. LOT Polish Airlines opened a lounge in Chicago Bottom line The Swissport Lounge Chicago O’Hare Terminal 5 has suddenly closed. I’m not sad to see the United States’ worst airport lounge close, though I am curious to see what is next for this space. Fortunately the Terminal 5 lounge situation has improved nicely in recent years, and there are now several solid new options. I do wish we’d still see a proper credit card lounge, though. What do you make of the Swissport Lounge Chicago closing? Are you happy or elated? Save posts to read later Saving posts is a member feature. Become an OMAAT member to build a reading list you can come back to from any device. Become a member Already a member? Log in Meet Ben Schlappig, OMAAT Founder