On Saturday, May 17, a DoorDash driver mistakenly entered a restricted area at Chicago O'Hare International Airport, sparking a temporary security concern, CBS News Chicago reported. The driver was moving through the airport's secured perimeter, raising alarms when spotted by air traffic control.
No operational disruptions were reported at the airport. Authorities later determined that the intrusion was unintentional, and no charges were filed. The case has reignited concerns about ground security and access control at one of the busiest airports in the United States, especially amid other recent safety lapses at Chicago O'Hare and Midway Airport.
Details Confirm Breach Was Accidental, No Charges Filed
The 36-year-old male driver was making a delivery when he inadvertently accessed the airside area. The driver's unexpected detour went unnoticed until air traffic controllers spotted the vehicle moving through secured parts of the airport. According to a source cited by CBS News Chicago, the driver may have crossed multiple internal roads and potentially even taxiways before the alert was raised.
The Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA), which oversees operations at both O’Hare and Midway airports, said in a statement to Simple Flying:
"The safety and security of the traveling public, airport workers, and airport facilities remain the top priorities of the CDA...There were no operational disruptions or safety incidents reported, and the area was promptly swept by CPD and Aviation Security Personnel out of an abundance of caution. The CDA is taking this matter seriously and will use the findings of the investigation to inform any necessary follow-up or corrective measures."
Chicago O’Hare And Midway Have Seen Similar Breaches
Furthermore, Robert Mark, a former air traffic controller and business jet pilot, described the incident as "frightening" and emphasized how dangerous it could have been under different circumstances.“But now imagine if this had been at night in the darkness, I mean, where no one noticed this person,” Mark told CBS News Chicago. “Headlights all look the same pretty much in the dark. This could have been really, really bad.” While rare, such ground breaches are taken seriously by aviation authorities due to the potential risk they pose to active airport operations.
More recently, on February 25, 2025, a serious runway incursion occurred at Chicago Midway International Airport when a Flexjet Challenger 350 business jet crossed an active runway without authorization. The incident forced Southwest Flight 2504 to abort its landing seconds before touchdown.
Air traffic control recordings revealed that the private jet’s pilot had initially misunderstood clearance instructions. Although corrected, the aircraft still entered the runway without authorization. The FAA launched an investigation, calling it a serious runway incursion narrowly averted by the Southwest pilots’ rapid decision-making.
FAA's Efforts To Reduce Runway Incursions
To address these risks, the FAA announced in April 2025 that it would install new runway incursion warning systems at 74 airports nationwide. These devices, which enhance situational awareness for both pilots and ground crews, form part of a trio of fast-tracked initiatives launched under the agency’s “Safety Call to Action” campaign in early 2023. According to the FAA, the national rate of serious runway incursions fell from 0.435 per million operations in early 2023 to 0.117 in 2024.