Flights Chicago → Buffalo
MDW → BUF
Route overview
This flight route operates from Chicago to Buffalo with a Boeing 737-800 aircraft and has an on-time performance rate of 71%. Over the course of the year, it records an average delay of 14.4 minutes per flight, with a total of 189 flights conducted. The destination airport serves approximately 4.6 million passengers annually.
Your rights on this US flight (DOT)
US flights have no statutory cash compensation for delays. Under the US DOT rules, if your flight is cancelled or significantly changed and you decline rebooking, you're owed an automatic refund of the unused ticket. The tarmac-delay limit is 3 hours (domestic) / 4 hours (international). Amenities for controllable delays depend on each airline's contract of carriage.
US flight refund rules & checker →General information, not legal advice.
The Chicago (MDW) → Buffalo (BUF) route is operated by Southwest Airlines. Across 245 flights monitored in recent months, 71% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 15 minutes. The cancellation rate is 4.49%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 23.7/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At Buffalo the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from Chicago the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes.
Heading to Buffalo: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Chicago (MDW) to Buffalo (BUF) heads east for about 752 km, a flight time of roughly 1h 22m.
Departures from Chicago on this leg cluster in the midday window: about 40% of MDW-BUF flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Chicago the average ATFM delay is 2.0 min (atfm); arriving into Buffalo it is 2.0 min (atfm).
Across 245 tracked MDW-BUF flights, 71% left on time with an average delay of 15 min and a 4.5% cancellation rate.
Route facts
Flights on this route
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Airline punctuality on this route
| Airline | On-time | Average delay | Cancellations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines (WN) | 73% | 6 min | 3.1% |
Airlines operating MDW-BUF
Airports
Frequently asked questions about MDW-BUF
On the Chicago (MDW) -> Buffalo (BUF) route, on-time performance is 71% with an average delay of 15 minutes, based on 245 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Chicago-Buffalo is 4.49% across 245 monitored flights.
The route is operated by 1 airline: Southwest Airlines.
Enter your flight number on FlightGuard for a real-time analysis based on 9 factors: weather at Buffalo, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel, airline punctuality and recent trends.
US flights have no statutory cash compensation for delays. Under US DOT rules, if the airline cancels or significantly changes your flight and you decline rebooking, you're owed an automatic refund of the unused ticket. The tarmac-delay limit is 3 hours (domestic) / 4 hours (international). Meals or hotels for controllable delays depend on each airline's contract of carriage.
