Narrative:

The local controller cleared aircraft X for takeoff from rwy 22L; however aircraft Y tried to depart rwy 31C the intersecting runway. The local controller took action to stop aircraft Y to avoid a further incident and aircraft X aborted takeoff clearance.pior to both aircraft reaching the runway I was working ground control; I pushed and taxied aircraft X to ry 22L. Then about 3-4 minutes later aircraft Y strip was passed to me and I pushed aircraft Y off his gate. About 90 seconds later local control asked me to switch aircraft X so he could depart; I reached out to aircraft X but I never got a response; so to the best of my knowledge aircraft X was no longer on my frequency and I was not talking to both aircraft at the same time. Then it was a full 7-8 minutes before I taxied aircraft Y to rwy 31C; approx. 3 minutes after aircraft Y pushed back. I was unaware that aircraft X had not departed at this point; so I didn't give the 'similar sounding call sign' phraseology as I only had aircraft Y on my frequency at the time; then 2 minutes later the incident happened when aircraft Y had reached 31I would recommend that if there is a chance that the first aircraft could get delayed at the runway then within at least 10 minutes of having a similar sounding call sign aircraft; then just issue the phraseology so that at least 1 aircraft is aware they may encounter a similar sounding call sign when switching from ground control to local control; or sector to sector. Furthermore you could advise the next section to point it out that they may have both aircraft at the same time.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: MDW Controller and an air carrier flight crew reported an unsafe situation due to similar sounding call signs.

Narrative: The Local Controller cleared Aircraft X for takeoff from Rwy 22L; however Aircraft Y tried to Depart Rwy 31C the intersecting runway. The Local Controller took action to stop Aircraft Y to avoid a further incident and Aircraft X aborted Takeoff clearance.Pior to both Aircraft reaching the runway I was working Ground Control; I pushed and Taxied Aircraft X to RY 22L. Then about 3-4 minutes Later Aircraft Y strip was passed to me and I pushed Aircraft Y off his gate. About 90 seconds later LC asked me to switch Aircraft X so he could depart; I reached out to Aircraft X but I never got a response; so to the best of my knowledge Aircraft X was no longer on my frequency and I was not talking to both aircraft at the same time. Then it was a full 7-8 Minutes before I taxied Aircraft Y to Rwy 31C; approx. 3 minutes after Aircraft Y pushed back. I was unaware that Aircraft X had not departed at this point; so I didn't give the 'similar sounding call sign' phraseology as I only had Aircraft Y on my frequency at the time; then 2 minutes later the incident happened when Aircraft Y had reached 31I would recommend that if there is a chance that the first aircraft could get delayed at the runway then within at least 10 minutes of having a similar sounding call sign aircraft; then just issue the phraseology so that at least 1 aircraft is aware they may encounter a similar sounding call sign when switching from GC to LC; or sector to sector. Furthermore you could advise the next section to point it out that they may have both aircraft at the same time.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.