Historical on-time performance
Washington to Chicago
601 miData through Dec 2025Source: US DOT · BTS
Flights on DCA–MDW arrive on time 76% of the time over the last 12 months.
On-time rate76%arrived within 15 min
p90 delay50 min1 in 10 flights is worse (tail risk)
Cancelled2.5%of scheduled flights
based on 2,102 flights over the last 12 months. On-time means arriving within 15 minutes (BTS standard).
By airline
How each carrier compares
- Southwest AirlinesOn-time76%Medianon timep9050 minCancel2.5%Flights2,102
Why flights run late
Delay causes
- Airline22%
- Weather2%
- Air traffic (NAS)13%
- Late aircraft63%
- Security0%
Most delay minutes here are attributed to Late aircraft.
Over time
On-time trend
By season
On-time rate by month
When to fly
Best time to fly DCA → MDW
All airlines · rolling 36 months (2023-01 .. 2025-12).
Best time of day
Mornings are the most reliable time of day to fly this route — 91% on time.
- Mornings91% on time · p90 10 min · 2,063 flights
- Middays85% on time · p90 20 min · 1,171 flights
- Afternoons75% on time · p90 45 min · 1,073 flights
- Evenings69% on time · p90 65 min · 1,063 flights
- Overnights67% on time · p90 70 min · 960 flights
Best day of week
On-time rates are fairly even by day on this route — ranging from 76% to 85% on time.
- Saturdays85% on time · p90 20 min · 757 flights
- Tuesdays83% on time · p90 35 min · 938 flights
- Wednesdays81% on time · p90 35 min · 940 flights
- Mondays80% on time · p90 30 min · 935 flights
- Thursdays79% on time · p90 35 min · 923 flights
- Fridays77% on time · p90 45 min · 927 flights
- Sundays76% on time · p90 45 min · 910 flights
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