Flights Raleigh-durham → Chicago
RDU → MDW
How long is the flight from Raleigh-durham to Chicago?
The flight from Raleigh-durham (RDU) to Chicago (MDW) takes about 1h 41m. 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
The flight route from Raleigh-Durham to Chicago has a punctuality rate of 73%, with an average delay of 12.8 minutes per flight. Over the course of a year, this route sees 196 flights, connecting one of the busiest airports in terms of annual passenger traffic, which handles 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 Raleigh-durham (RDU) → Chicago (MDW) route is operated by Southwest Airlines. Across 580 flights monitored in recent months, 68% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 18 minutes. The cancellation rate is 3.62%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 24.1/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At Chicago the average ATFM delay is 5.5 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from Raleigh-durham the average ATFM delay is 5.5 minutes.
Heading to Chicago: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Raleigh-durham (RDU) to Chicago (MDW) heads north-west for about 1,016 km, a flight time of roughly 1h 41m.
Departures from Raleigh-durham on this leg cluster in the midday window: about 37% of RDU-MDW flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Raleigh-durham the average ATFM delay is 5.5 min (atfm); arriving into Chicago it is 5.5 min (atfm).
Across 580 tracked RDU-MDW flights, 68% left on time with an average delay of 18 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) | 75% | 5 min | 0.3% |
Airlines operating RDU-MDW
Airports
Frequently asked questions about RDU-MDW
The flight from Raleigh-durham (RDU) to Chicago (MDW) takes about 1h 41m. 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 Raleigh-durham (RDU) -> Chicago (MDW) route, on-time performance is 68% with an average delay of 18 minutes, based on 580 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Raleigh-durham-Chicago is 3.62% across 580 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.
