FlightRecord

Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW): Delays & On-Time Performance

Data through May 2026

Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) is a tale of two seasons: departures ran 85% on-time in November 2024 but sank to 62% in March 2026. Across the year it averages 75% against a national 78%, over roughly 203 departures a day to 87 destinations.

Departures on-time
75%
left <15 min late
Avg dep delay
15 min
Arrivals on-time
80%
Cancelled
1.1%
Destinations
87
nonstop
Airlines
5

Monthly on-time trend

Monthly departure on-time percentage at MDW50%75%100%June 2024: 66% on-time (7,537 flights)66Jun 2024July 2024: 65% on-time (7,884 flights)65August 2024: 74% on-time (7,199 flights)74September 2024: 83% on-time (6,849 flights)83Sep 2024October 2024: 85% on-time (6,744 flights)85November 2024: 85% on-time (5,901 flights)85December 2024: 75% on-time (5,949 flights)75Dec 2024January 2025: 81% on-time (5,189 flights)81February 2025: 83% on-time (4,741 flights)83March 2025: 79% on-time (6,106 flights)79Mar 2025April 2025: 82% on-time (6,051 flights)82May 2025: 76% on-time (6,128 flights)76June 2025: 67% on-time (7,187 flights)67Jun 2025July 2025: 64% on-time (7,531 flights)64August 2025: 74% on-time (6,731 flights)74September 2025: 82% on-time (6,459 flights)82Sep 2025October 2025: 78% on-time (6,536 flights)78November 2025: 79% on-time (5,620 flights)79December 2025: 68% on-time (5,738 flights)68Dec 2025January 2026: 82% on-time (4,848 flights)82February 2026: 79% on-time (4,537 flights)79March 2026: 62% on-time (6,508 flights)62Mar 2026April 2026: 77% on-time (6,282 flights)77May 2026: 69% on-time (6,269 flights)69

Best time of day to depart from MDW

On-time percentage by scheduled departure hour at MDW5 a.m.: 94% on-time (4,844 flights)56 a.m.: 95% on-time (6,508 flights)67 a.m.: 89% on-time (9,148 flights)78 a.m.: 88% on-time (12,338 flights)89 a.m.: 84% on-time (12,640 flights)910 a.m.: 85% on-time (9,564 flights)1011 a.m.: 78% on-time (6,802 flights)1112 p.m.: 79% on-time (8,570 flights)121 p.m.: 78% on-time (10,359 flights)132 p.m.: 72% on-time (8,057 flights)143 p.m.: 69% on-time (6,869 flights)154 p.m.: 69% on-time (6,570 flights)165 p.m.: 65% on-time (8,415 flights)176 p.m.: 65% on-time (10,581 flights)187 p.m.: 63% on-time (8,075 flights)198 p.m.: 62% on-time (10,676 flights)209 p.m.: 50% on-time (6,862 flights)2110 p.m.: 52% on-time (3,646 flights)22scheduled departure hour

Busiest routes from MDW

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
MDW → ATL3,53881%14 min
MDW → PHX2,82078%13 min
MDW → MCO2,78978%14 min
MDW → MSP2,59578%16 min
MDW → LAS2,40579%12 min
MDW → DEN2,39277%15 min
MDW → LGA2,36873%17 min
MDW → DAL2,15578%13 min

Most reliable routes

  1. MDW → ELP87%
  2. MDW → IND85%
  3. MDW → PWM85%
  4. MDW → STL84%
  5. MDW → BNA83%

Most delay-prone routes

  1. MDW → SFO59%
  2. MDW → SEA65%
  3. MDW → IAH65%
  4. MDW → PDX67%
  5. MDW → MKE69%

Airline performance at MDW

AirlineOn-time departuresAvg delayFlights
Delta Air Lines84%15 min2,983
SkyWest Airlines81%17 min3,325
Allegiant Air79%28 min765
Frontier Airlines77%21 min5,209
Southwest Airlines75%15 min138,242

Frequently asked questions

How often are flights delayed at MDW?
25% of departures from Chicago Midway International Airport left 15+ minutes late between 2024-06 and 2026-05, with an average departure delay of 15 minutes. The national on-time average over the same period was 78%.
What is the best time of day to depart from MDW?
Flights scheduled around 6 a.m. depart on time 95% of the time at MDW, versus 50% around 9 p.m.. Booking before noon is the usual rule of thumb here.
What is the worst month for delays at MDW?
In this dataset, March 2026 was the weakest month at MDW, with 62% of departures on time.
How often are flights cancelled at MDW?
1.1% of scheduled departures from MDW were cancelled in this period, compared with a national rate of 1.6%.

Popular route pages from this airport

Based on 150,524 flights, 2024-06–2026-05. Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Updated 2026-07-01.