OnTimeStats

Airport on-time performance

Chicago

Data through May 2026Source: US DOT · BTS
On-time rate74%flights departing here that arrived on time
p90 delay45 min1 in 10 departures is worse (tail risk)
Cancelled1.4%of scheduled departures
Left the gate on time73%departures that pushed back within 15 min of schedule (DepDel15)

based on 74,246 flights over the last 12 months. On-time means arriving within 15 minutes (BTS standard).

As a connection hub

Arriving here (inbound performance)

These figures reflect inbound flights arriving at this airport — relevant for connections and layovers.

76%arrived on time here
(within 15 min, inbound flights)
  • On time76%
  • 15–59 min late15%
  • 1–2 hr late4%
  • 2 hr+ late2%
  • Cancelled or diverted2%

Arrival outcomes for inbound flights. Last segment = cancelled or diverted.

Bad day: 1 in 10 flights arrives more than 35 min late.

By airline

Carriers departing here (last 12 months)

Delay = arrival delay (ArrDel15-based)

  • Delta Air Linesbest
    On-time83%
    Medianon time
    p9030 min
    Cancel3.0%
    Flights1,406
  • SkyWest Airlines
    On-time78%
    Medianon time
    p9045 min
    Cancel1.0%
    Flights1,275
  • Southwest Airlines
    On-time74%
    Medianon time
    p9045 min
    Cancel1.4%
    Flights66,888
  • Frontier Airlines
    On-time69%
    Medianon time
    p9055 min
    Cancel1.5%
    Flights780

Over time

On-time trend

By season

On-time rate by month

When it gets busy

Busiest times at MDW

Historically, departures at MDW peak 5–10 a.m. — 30% of scheduled flights leave in that block.

MDW is busier on weekdays — a typical weekday sees about 11% more departures than a weekend day.

  • 5–10 a.m.30%
  • 10 a.m.–2 p.m.23%
  • 2–5 p.m.15%
  • 5–8 p.m.18%
  • 8 p.m.–midnight15%

Share of 233,606 scheduled departures by planned departure time, 2023-06 .. 2026-05. Historical averages from BTS data — not live airport status.

When flights don't go

Why flights were cancelled

  • Airline15%
  • Weather71%
  • Air traffic (NAS)15%
  • Security0%

Most cancellations here are attributed to Weather. Shares are among 1,046 cancellations with a reported cause (BTS reports causes from June 2003).

Where flights go

Busiest routes

MDW → ATL→MDW → MCI→MDW → MSP→MDW → DTW→MDW → STL→MDW → DEN→MDW → LAS→MDW → MCO→MDW → BWI→MDW → BNA→

Side by side

Compare this airport

Compare with Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airporthead-to-head on-time→Compare with Chicago O'Hare International Airporthead-to-head on-time→Compare with Dallas Fort Worth International Airporthead-to-head on-time→Compare with Denver International Airporthead-to-head on-time→

Will you make a connection at MDW? →

Keep exploring

Related guides

When to arrive at the airportguide→Worst airports for delaysguide→

Methodology

A flight is on time when it arrives within 15 minutes of schedule — the US DOT / BTS standard. Median and p90(the “1-in-10 bad day”) are read from the full arrival-delay distribution, never averaged across periods.

Figures cover a carrier’s own BTS-coded flights. Cells below ~200 flights are flagged as limited data. All numbers are pre-computed from public BTS On-Time Performance data.