Flights Cleveland → Chicago
CLE → MDW
Route overview
The flight route from Cleveland to Chicago operates with a high level of punctuality, with 79% of flights arriving on time. Over the past year, there have been 244 total flights along this route, each experiencing an average delay of 8.8 minutes. The origin airport in Cleveland has been operational since 1925 and serves as a gateway to one of the busiest destinations in the United States, with Chicago's airport handling nearly 19.9 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 Cleveland (CLE) → Chicago (MDW) route is operated by Southwest Airlines. Across 341 flights monitored in recent months, 79% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 10 minutes. The cancellation rate is 4.11%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 18/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At Chicago the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from Cleveland the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes.
Heading to Chicago: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Cleveland (CLE) to Chicago (MDW) heads west for about 492 km, a flight time of roughly 1h 2m.
Departures from Cleveland on this leg cluster in the midday window: about 36% of CLE-MDW flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Cleveland the average ATFM delay is 2.0 min (atfm); arriving into Chicago it is 2.0 min (atfm).
Across 341 tracked CLE-MDW flights, 79% left on time with an average delay of 10 min and a 4.1% 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 CLE-MDW
Airports
Frequently asked questions about CLE-MDW
On the Cleveland (CLE) -> Chicago (MDW) route, on-time performance is 79% with an average delay of 10 minutes, based on 341 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Cleveland-Chicago is 4.11% across 341 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 Chicago, 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.
