Flights Chicago → Denver
MDW → DEN
Route overview
The flight route from Chicago to Denver operates with an average on-time performance of 67%, experiencing a mean delay of 19.5 minutes per flight. Over the past year, this route has seen 469 flights operated by Airbus A319 aircraft, serving one of the busiest airports in the United States, which welcomed 82,358,744 passengers annually as of its latest figures and opened in 1989.
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) → Denver (DEN) route is operated by Frontier Airlines, Southwest Airlines. Across 724 flights monitored in recent months, 68% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 22 minutes. The cancellation rate is 4.28%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 24.5/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At Denver the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from Chicago the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes.
Heading to Denver: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Chicago (MDW) to Denver (DEN) heads west for about 1,437 km, a flight time of roughly 2h 13m.
Departures from Chicago on this leg cluster in the overnight window: about 37% of MDW-DEN flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Chicago the average ATFM delay is 2.0 min (atfm); arriving into Denver it is 2.0 min (atfm).
Across 724 tracked MDW-DEN flights, 68% left on time with an average delay of 22 min and a 4.3% cancellation rate.
Route facts
Flights on this route
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Airline punctuality on this route
| Airline | On-time | Average delay | Cancellations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frontier Airlines (F9) | 74% | 15 min | 2.2% |
| Southwest Airlines (WN) | 73% | 6 min | 3.1% |
Airlines operating MDW-DEN
Airports
Frequently asked questions about MDW-DEN
On the Chicago (MDW) -> Denver (DEN) route, on-time performance is 68% with an average delay of 22 minutes, based on 724 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Chicago-Denver is 4.28% across 724 monitored flights.
The route is operated by 2 airlines: Frontier Airlines, Southwest Airlines.
Enter your flight number on FlightGuard for a real-time analysis based on 9 factors: weather at Denver, 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.
