Flights Chicago → New Orleans
MDW → MSY
Route overview
The flight route from Chicago to New Orleans operates with a high volume of flights, totaling 250 annually. With an on-time performance rate of 72%, the average delay for these flights is approximately 12.3 minutes, serving one of the busiest airports in the destination city that handles nearly 11.9 million passengers per year.
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) → New Orleans (MSY) route is operated by Southwest Airlines. Across 318 flights monitored in recent months, 72% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 14 minutes. The cancellation rate is 3.77%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 24.1/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At New Orleans the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from Chicago the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes.
Heading to New Orleans: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Chicago (MDW) to New Orleans (MSY) heads south for about 1,330 km, a flight time of roughly 2h 5m.
Departures from Chicago on this leg cluster in the overnight window: about 39% of MDW-MSY flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Chicago the average ATFM delay is 2.0 min (atfm); arriving into New Orleans it is 2.0 min (atfm).
Across 318 tracked MDW-MSY flights, 72% left on time with an average delay of 14 min and a 3.8% 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-MSY
Airports
Frequently asked questions about MDW-MSY
On the Chicago (MDW) -> New Orleans (MSY) route, on-time performance is 72% with an average delay of 14 minutes, based on 318 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Chicago-New Orleans is 3.77% across 318 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 New Orleans, 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.
