Frequently Asked Questions

The Waukegan Port District owns and operates the Waukegan National Airport along with the Waukegan Harbor & Marina and the Port of Waukegan. The Waukegan Port District is a municipal corporation created by the Illinois General Assembly and authorized to own and operate an aeronautical facility.

Waukegan National Airport is pursuing the development of a Replacement Runway 5/23. The replacement runway will be constructed approximately 400 feet to the northwest of the existing Runway 5/23 centerline and the thresholds will be shifted approximately 1,100 feet to the southwest. The runway dimensions will be 6,000 feet long and 150 feet wide.

The Waukegan National Airport is required to meet all Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) safety standards. Currently, the Waukegan National Airport does not fully comply with FAA airport safety standards, such as runway safety areas, runway object free areas and runway gradient. The Airport is following FAA guidelines to bring the airport into compliance. The proposed project will keep the airport viable and competitive for decades to come while continuing its contribution to the economic vitality of the region.

Waukegan National Airport has always followed the required FAA procedures for determining runway length. Where previously these procedures resulted in an FAA approved 7,000-foot proposed runway, FAA’s guidelines have continued to evolve over time and were recently revised in 2024. The new FAA runway length determination procedure now yields a 6,000-foot-long replacement runway.

No.  Waukegan National Airport is a general aviation airport, not a FAR Part 139 Commercial Service Passenger Airport like O’Hare. Waukegan is designated by FAA as a general aviation reliever airport. This means the Waukegan National Airport only provides general aviation/corporate aircraft access to Lake County.

No. The replacement runway will not be designed to serve FAR Part 139 Commercial Service Passenger carriers, such as those listed. The replacement runway will only be designed to handle general aviation/corporate aircraft that presently use Waukegan. In addition, Waukegan is located between Chicago O’Hare International Airport and General Mitchell International Airport, two of the largest passenger airports in the United States. No airlines have stated their desire to initiate any air passenger service at Waukegan National Airport.

No. Typical air cargo aircraft that use airports such as Chicago O’Hare International, are normally large Boeing 767’s and Boeing 747’s. The Replacement Runway Program facilities (runways, taxiways, and aprons) will not be designed to handle any of these large air cargo aircraft. Also, no air cargo carrier has approached the Airport to initiate any air cargo service to the Waukegan National Airport.

Approval of the Replacement Runway Program is vested in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The FAA is required to follow the environmental process outline in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).  FAA has determined that the NEPA process will be reviewed through a Condensed Environmental Assessment.