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Home » United Airlines » United Airlines Evacuates Willis Tower Staff Due To Unrest In Chicago
United Airlines

United Airlines Evacuates Willis Tower Staff Due To Unrest In Chicago

Matthew Klint Posted onAugust 11, 2020November 14, 2023 14 Comments

a river with a bridge and a bridge in a city

With civil unrest impacting downtown Chicago, United Airlines is temporarily re-locating a key team to from its world headquarters in the Willis Tower to its Elk Grove facility in suburban Chicago.

Chicago Unrest Impacts United Airlines At Willis Tower

Live and Let’s Fly has learned that United has taken swift action in response to the civil unrest that has grown in Chicago over the last several nights. With bridges raised, street closed, and Metro service reduced, United will move a key team out of its downtown headquarters.

“Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced that the city will restrict access to the central business district from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily as a result of widespread looting overnight. In addition, public transit routes will be adjusted and commuter rail service affected. Many bridges across the Chicago River will be raised, and expressway feeder ramps and Lake Shore Drive will be closed to limit traffic into the area.”

United will temporarily relocate its Network Operations Center staff from Willis Tower to Elk Grove. A back-up facility at the Network Data Center / Emergency Operations Center (location classified) will be on standby in case additional space should be needed.

United’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) can be used “to control their entire worldwide operations in the event that the main OPS Center is down. The EOC contains conference rooms, 50 workstations for various user groups which are focused on a video wall and a control room overlook for supervision.”

a room with computers and monitors

Furthermore, crews will temporarily stay at hotels near the airport rather than downtown.

CONCLUSION

With Chicago in virtual lockdown, it would not surprise me to see all staff ordered to work from home or offsite. It was only in May that United was forced out of Willis Tower due to flooding. Once again, United finds itself locked out of its own headquarters.

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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14 Comments

  1. Pete Reply
    August 11, 2020 at 10:51 am

    Keep voting democrat!

  2. Airfarer Reply
    August 11, 2020 at 11:19 am

    Unrest? That’s an interesting choice of descriptor. Do you perchance have British as well as German blood?

    • ORDUAEmployee Reply
      August 11, 2020 at 11:41 am

      Matt,

      I live in Chicago And I’m a United employee … there is no lockdown in affect. It was a one night deal … out of precaution they raised the bridges in the loop last night but everything is back to normal.

      As for the NOC they will be back to Willis on Thursday.

      ORD was temporarily evacuated last night due to the nasty thunderstorms that came thru that produced a couple of tornados and high winds.

      All is well .. no need to over react

      • Matthew Klint Reply
        August 11, 2020 at 12:09 pm

        Thanks for the update. Someone sent me an email which I reported on, but I’m glad to see you’ll be moving back quickly.

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      August 11, 2020 at 12:09 pm

      I do on my maternal grandmother’s side!

  3. Santastico Reply
    August 11, 2020 at 1:57 pm

    Every city gets what they deserve. Chicago deserves the mayor they elected.

  4. Brian G. Reply
    August 11, 2020 at 3:23 pm

    I never understood why United moved its headquarters to the Sears Tower. It is a nice building and location but is expensive. Normally a company locates there if they have customers to impress with high-end real estate. There peers American and Delta both use cheaper suburban office parks near their biggest hub. I would at least downscale to only have executive offices there and relocate operational offices back to the suburbs.

    • Sal Reply
      August 11, 2020 at 6:02 pm

      Not sure what kind of hidden agenda United has going? I work at Willis tower and have to get on the same elevator entrance they do. Before covid the employees flooded the entrance in the lobby. They pretty much pulled out around second week of March once covid broke out and haven’t seen one United employee around since then,

      • Employee Reply
        August 11, 2020 at 11:16 pm

        Many are working from home and others are at the backup location but there are still dozens working at Willis (except this week), you probably just haven’t been in the lobby at shift change

    • UA-NYC Reply
      August 11, 2020 at 7:25 pm

      No shortage of suburban companies moving downtown…Beam Suntory, Ferrara, Kraft-Heinz, McDonald’s all in recent years (plus UA), sure there are many others. You go where the talent is…young people don’t want to live in Schaumburg or Naperville.

  5. Larry B Reply
    August 11, 2020 at 4:18 pm

    Isn’t this the building/location where UA had to move staffers in May due to basement flooding a vital electric substation as well??
    Plenty of hyperbole being slung about today. Thanks for playing, everyone!

  6. JR Reply
    August 13, 2020 at 3:13 pm

    They should just move everything back to Houston.

  7. M Casey Reply
    August 14, 2020 at 1:05 am

    @JR –

    Yeah, cuz IAH doesn’t have a hurricane season that runs from June-Oct! Not to mention, the roadways that become rivers due to overdevelopment.

    All in jest!

  8. Pingback: United Airlines Evacuates Operations From Downtown Chicago Due To Riots - View from the Wing

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