Flights Chicago → Sacramento
MDW → SMF
Route overview
The flight route from Chicago to Sacramento has a punctuality rate of 72%, with an average delay of 20.3 minutes per flight. Over the course of a year, this route sees approximately 146 flights, serving one of the busier airports in its destination city, which handles around 12,313,370 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) → Sacramento (SMF) route is operated by Southwest Airlines. Across 174 flights monitored in recent months, 70% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 20 minutes. The cancellation rate is 1.72%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 19.4/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At Sacramento the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from Chicago the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes.
Heading to Sacramento: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Chicago (MDW) to Sacramento (SMF) heads west for about 2,874 km, a flight time of roughly 4h 1m.
Departures from Chicago on this leg cluster in the overnight window: about 52% of MDW-SMF flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Chicago the average ATFM delay is 2.0 min (atfm); arriving into Sacramento it is 2.0 min (atfm).
Across 174 tracked MDW-SMF flights, 70% left on time with an average delay of 20 min and a 1.7% 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-SMF
Airports
Frequently asked questions about MDW-SMF
On the Chicago (MDW) -> Sacramento (SMF) route, on-time performance is 70% with an average delay of 20 minutes, based on 174 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Chicago-Sacramento is 1.72% across 174 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 Sacramento, 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.
