Flights Des Moines → Chicago
DSM → MDW
Route overview
The flight route from Des Moines to Chicago operates with a Boeing 737-300 and has an on-time performance rate of 84%, with an average delay of 10.8 minutes per flight. Over the course of a year, this route sees around eleven thousand one hundred flights, serving a destination airport that accommodates nearly twenty 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 Des Moines (DSM) → Chicago (MDW) route is operated by Southwest Airlines. Across 111 flights monitored in recent months, 84% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 11 minutes. The cancellation rate is 3.60%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 21.1/100 (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 Des Moines the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes.
Heading to Chicago: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Des Moines (DSM) to Chicago (MDW) heads east for about 491 km, a flight time of roughly 1h 2m.
Departures from Des Moines on this leg cluster in the overnight window: about 51% of DSM-MDW flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Des Moines the average ATFM delay is 2.0 min (atfm); arriving into Chicago it is 2.0 min (atfm).
Across 111 tracked DSM-MDW flights, 84% left on time with an average delay of 11 min and a 3.6% 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 DSM-MDW
Airports
Frequently asked questions about DSM-MDW
On the Des Moines (DSM) -> Chicago (MDW) route, on-time performance is 84% with an average delay of 11 minutes, based on 111 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Des Moines-Chicago is 3.60% across 111 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.
