Departure
95%
vs 95%
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Waukegan National Airport is a busy general aviation and corporate reliever field on the shore of Lake Michigan, roughly 35 to 40 miles north of Chicago O'Hare. With two intersecting runways, an ILS approach and a manned control tower, it offers sim pilots a realistic slice of Chicago-area airspace without the complexity of the major hubs.
Waukegan National Airport (KUGN) sits in Lake County, Illinois, between Chicago and Milwaukee, and is designated by the FAA as a reliever airport for Chicago O'Hare International. It is owned by the Waukegan Port District and has been operated by that authority since 1956. The field handles a substantial mix of private, corporate, business and governmental traffic, and its combination of a long lit runway, ILS approach and control tower makes it an interesting and approachable destination for a VFR or IFR flight in the sim.
The airport lies just northwest of the city of Waukegan, close to the Lake Michigan shoreline, within the wider Chicago terminal area. Approach and departure services are provided by Chicago Approach/Departure on 120.55 MHz. The airport itself is controlled, with its own tower and ground frequencies (see Radio & Navigation), placing it within controlled airspace during tower hours typical of a corporate reliever field of this size.
Waukegan has two physical runways. Runway 05/23 is the primary strip, 5,985 feet long, hard-surfaced and lit, with an ILS serving Runway 23. Runway 14/32 is the crosswind runway, with the 32 threshold offering 3,736 feet and the 14 threshold 3,247 feet, both hard-surfaced and lit. Field elevation is 722 feet.
Radio services at Waukegan include Chicago Approach/Departure on 120.55 MHz, an ATIS broadcast on 132.4 MHz, and a combined CTAF/Tower frequency of 120.05 MHz. Ground control operates on 121.65 MHz, with a radio (RDO) frequency of 122.55 MHz and UNICOM on 122.95 MHz. The field is equipped with an Instrument Landing System, with the ILS serving Runway 23, supporting instrument approaches into the airport.
The runway layout at Waukegan consists of two intersecting strips, 05/23 and 14/32, with full-length parallel taxiways south of 05/23 and on both sides of 14/32, which pilots should bear in mind when planning circuits and taxi routes. As a towered field, arriving and departing traffic is sequenced by the control tower on 120.05 MHz, with ground movements handled separately on 121.65 MHz.
The airport is situated near the Lake Michigan shoreline just northwest of the city of Waukegan, with the Waukegan Marina and lakefront providing a useful visual reference for pilots approaching from the east. Nearby landmarks in the local area include Six Flags Great America and Gurnee Mills to the west, both useful for general orientation when inbound to the field.
Waukegan National Airport was originally known as Waukegan Memorial Airport and has been operated by the Waukegan Port District since 1956. Runway upgrades began in 2022. The field has been the site of at least one notable incident, the 2000 Zion mid-air collision on 8 February 2000, in which two private aircraft attempting to land at Waukegan collided. During the 2020 Kenosha unrest, the airport received a notable arrival when the sitting US President flew into Waukegan en route to assess damage in nearby Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Waukegan remains a full-service public general aviation airport, based around 188 aircraft and handling approximately 50,500 annual aircraft operations, with over three million gallons of aviation fuel dispensed each year. It is professionally managed by F3 Aviation on behalf of the Waukegan Port District and serves as a base for corporate and business flying in the Chicago and southeast Wisconsin area, aided by its Instrument Landing System, manned Airport Traffic Control Tower and an on-site US Customs and Border Protection office handling international arrivals. Free overnight parking and tie-down facilities are available to visiting pilots, who are asked to bring their own chocks and tie-downs.