Flights Washington → Chicago
IAD → MDW
Route overview
The flight route from Washington to Chicago is part of a high-demand travel corridor, connecting two major U.S. cities. The destination airport serves over 19 million passengers annually, underscoring its significance as a key transportation hub.
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 Washington (IAD) → Chicago (MDW) route is operated by Southwest Airlines. Across 13 flights monitored in recent months, 62% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 10 minutes. The cancellation rate is 0.00%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 11.8/100 (low), 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 Washington the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes.
Heading to Chicago: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Washington (IAD) to Chicago (MDW) heads north-west for about 927 km, a flight time of roughly 1h 35m.
Departures from Washington on this leg cluster in the overnight window: about 54% of IAD-MDW flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Washington the average ATFM delay is 2.0 min (atfm); arriving into Chicago it is 2.0 min (atfm).
Across 13 tracked IAD-MDW flights, 62% left on time with an average delay of 10 min and a 0.0% 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 IAD-MDW
Airports
Frequently asked questions about IAD-MDW
On the Washington (IAD) -> Chicago (MDW) route, on-time performance is 62% with an average delay of 10 minutes, based on 13 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Washington-Chicago is 0.00% across 13 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.
