Flights Chicago → Washington
MDW → IAD
Route overview
The flight route connects Chicago to Washington, serving two major cities in the United States. With over 21 million passengers annually at the destination airport, this route is highly trafficked and popular among travelers.
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) → Washington (IAD) route is operated by Southwest Airlines. Across 12 flights monitored in recent months, 67% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 11 minutes. The cancellation rate is 0.00%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 11.2/100 (low), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At Washington the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from Chicago the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes.
Heading to Washington: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Chicago (MDW) to Washington (IAD) heads east for about 927 km, a flight time of roughly 1h 35m.
Departures from Chicago on this leg cluster in the overnight window: about 50% of MDW-IAD flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Chicago the average ATFM delay is 2.0 min (atfm); arriving into Washington it is 2.0 min (atfm).
Across 12 tracked MDW-IAD flights, 67% left on time with an average delay of 11 min and a 0.0% cancellation rate.
Route facts
Flights on this route
Check the risk of a specific flight.
Flexible on this trip? Compare flights
Airline punctuality on this route
| Airline | On-time | Average delay | Cancellations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines (WN) | 73% | 6 min | 3.1% |
Airlines operating MDW-IAD
Airports
Frequently asked questions about MDW-IAD
On the Chicago (MDW) -> Washington (IAD) route, on-time performance is 67% with an average delay of 11 minutes, based on 12 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Chicago-Washington is 0.00% across 12 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 Washington, 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.
