Flights Denver → Chicago
DEN → MDW
Route overview
The flight route from Denver to Chicago operates with an average on-time performance rate of 66%, with flights typically experiencing a mean delay of 18.5 minutes. Over the past year, this route has seen 470 total flights using aircraft such as the Airbus A319 and Boeing 737-800, connecting one of the busiest airports in the United States, Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, which serves nearly 20 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 Denver (DEN) → Chicago (MDW) route is operated by Frontier Airlines, Southwest Airlines. Across 715 flights monitored in recent months, 65% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 18 minutes. The cancellation rate is 4.62%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 25.6/100 (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 Denver the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes.
Heading to Chicago: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Denver (DEN) to Chicago (MDW) heads east for about 1,437 km, a flight time of roughly 2h 13m.
Departures from Denver on this leg cluster in the overnight window: about 45% of DEN-MDW flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Denver the average ATFM delay is 2.0 min (atfm); arriving into Chicago it is 2.0 min (atfm).
Across 715 tracked DEN-MDW flights, 65% left on time with an average delay of 18 min and a 4.6% cancellation rate.
Route facts
Flights on this route
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Airline punctuality on this route
| Airline | On-time | Average delay | Cancellations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frontier Airlines (F9) | 74% | 15 min | 2.2% |
| Southwest Airlines (WN) | 73% | 6 min | 3.1% |
Airlines operating DEN-MDW
Airports
Frequently asked questions about DEN-MDW
On the Denver (DEN) -> Chicago (MDW) route, on-time performance is 65% with an average delay of 18 minutes, based on 715 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Denver-Chicago is 4.62% across 715 monitored flights.
The route is operated by 2 airlines: Frontier Airlines, 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.
