Flights Chicago → San Diego
MDW → SAN
How long is the flight from Chicago to San Diego?
The flight from Chicago (MDW) to San Diego (SAN) takes about 3h 53m. This is an estimate based on the distance between the two airports: the real time depends on the aircraft, wind and any stops.
Route overview
This flight route operates from Chicago to San Diego, using Boeing 737-800 aircraft. With a total of 271 flights and a 71% on-time performance rate, the average delay is approximately 16.2 minutes. The destination airport in San Diego, which opened in 1928, handles over 22 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) → San Diego (SAN) route is operated by Southwest Airlines. Across 723 flights monitored in recent months, 65% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 19 minutes. The cancellation rate is 2.21%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 28/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At San Diego the average ATFM delay is 5.5 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from Chicago the average ATFM delay is 5.5 minutes.
Heading to San Diego: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Chicago (MDW) to San Diego (SAN) heads west for about 2,776 km, a flight time of roughly 3h 53m.
Departures from Chicago on this leg cluster in the overnight window: about 48% of MDW-SAN flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Chicago the average ATFM delay is 5.5 min (atfm); arriving into San Diego it is 5.5 min (atfm).
Across 723 tracked MDW-SAN flights, 65% left on time with an average delay of 19 min and a 2.2% 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) | 75% | 5 min | 0.3% |
Airlines operating MDW-SAN
Airports
Frequently asked questions about MDW-SAN
The flight from Chicago (MDW) to San Diego (SAN) takes about 3h 53m. This is an estimate based on the distance between the two airports: the real time depends on the aircraft, wind and any stops.
On the Chicago (MDW) -> San Diego (SAN) route, on-time performance is 65% with an average delay of 19 minutes, based on 723 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Chicago-San Diego is 2.21% across 723 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 San Diego, 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.
