Historical on-time performance
Chicago to St. Louis
251 miData through May 2026Source: US DOT · BTS
Flights on MDW–STL arrive on time 81% of the time over the last 12 months.
On-time rate81%arrived within 15 min
p90 delay30 min1 in 10 flights is worse (tail risk)
Cancelled0.9%of scheduled flights
based on 1,705 flights over the last 12 months. On-time means arriving within 15 minutes (BTS standard).
By airline
How each carrier compares
- Southwest AirlinesOn-time81%Medianon timep9030 minCancel0.9%Flights1,705
Why flights run late
Delay causes
- Airline34%
- Weather1%
- Air traffic (NAS)11%
- Late aircraft54%
- Security0%
Most delay minutes here are attributed to Late aircraft.
When flights don't go
Why flights were cancelled
- Airline31%
- Weather63%
- Air traffic (NAS)6%
- Security0%
Most cancellations here are attributed to Weather. Shares are among 16 cancellations with a reported cause (BTS reports causes from June 2003).
Over time
On-time trend
By season
On-time rate by month
When to fly
Best time to fly MDW → STL
All airlines · rolling 36 months (2023-06 .. 2026-05).
Best time of day
Mornings are the most reliable time of day to fly this route — 93% on time.
- Mornings93% on time · p90 5 min · 1,878 flights
- Middays87% on time · p90 15 min · 1,146 flights
- Afternoons76% on time · p90 40 min · 606 flights
- Evenings72% on time · p90 50 min · 994 flights
- Overnights65% on time · p90 60 min · 1,035 flights
Best day of week
On-time rates are fairly even by day on this route — ranging from 75% to 85% on time.
- Tuesdays85% on time · p90 25 min · 851 flights
- Wednesdays84% on time · p90 25 min · 849 flights
- Saturdays82% on time · p90 25 min · 536 flights
- Thursdays82% on time · p90 30 min · 871 flights
- Fridays81% on time · p90 30 min · 871 flights
- Mondays81% on time · p90 30 min · 872 flights
- Sundays75% on time · p90 45 min · 809 flights
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