Flights Chicago → Des Moines
MDW → DSM
Route overview
The flight route from Chicago to Des Moines has a punctuality rate of 73%, with an average delay of 18.5 minutes per flight. Over the course of a year, approximately 111 flights travel this route, serving one of the many destinations that collectively see over 2.8 million passengers annually at the destination airport.
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) → Des Moines (DSM) route is operated by Southwest Airlines. Across 111 flights monitored in recent months, 73% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 19 minutes. The cancellation rate is 3.60%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 18.2/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At Des Moines the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from Chicago the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes.
Heading to Des Moines: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Chicago (MDW) to Des Moines (DSM) heads west for about 491 km, a flight time of roughly 1h 2m.
Departures from Chicago on this leg cluster in the overnight window: about 51% of MDW-DSM flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Chicago the average ATFM delay is 2.0 min (atfm); arriving into Des Moines it is 2.0 min (atfm).
Across 111 tracked MDW-DSM flights, 73% left on time with an average delay of 19 min and a 3.6% 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-DSM
Airports
Frequently asked questions about MDW-DSM
On the Chicago (MDW) -> Des Moines (DSM) route, on-time performance is 73% with an average delay of 19 minutes, based on 111 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Chicago-Des Moines is 3.60% across 111 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 Des Moines, 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.
