FlightRecord

Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD): Delays & On-Time Performance

Data through July 2026

Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) is a tale of two seasons: departures ran 86% on-time in October 2024 but sank to 65% in July 2025. Across the year it averages 75% against a national 78%, over roughly 986 departures a day to 195 destinations.

Departures on-time
75%
left <15 min late
Avg dep delay
20 min
Arrivals on-time
75%
Cancelled
2.0%
Destinations
195
nonstop
Airlines
13

Plan your departure from ORD

The choices most likely to improve your odds, based on this airport’s historical record.

Best departure time
Around 5 a.m.
90% on-time
Best day to fly
Tuesday
78% on-time
Most reliable airline here
Republic Airways
82% on-time from ORD
Cancellation risk
2.0%
above the US average
Check routes from ORD ↓Compare nearby airports ↓

Monthly on-time trend

Monthly departure on-time percentage at ORD50%75%100%August 2024: 71% on-time (25,500 flights)71Aug 2024September 2024: 84% on-time (24,847 flights)84October 2024: 86% on-time (25,211 flights)86November 2024: 85% on-time (22,435 flights)85Nov 2024December 2024: 78% on-time (22,668 flights)78January 2025: 80% on-time (21,643 flights)80February 2025: 79% on-time (19,989 flights)79Feb 2025March 2025: 78% on-time (24,580 flights)78April 2025: 82% on-time (26,136 flights)82May 2025: 80% on-time (27,990 flights)80May 2025June 2025: 71% on-time (29,641 flights)71July 2025: 65% on-time (30,503 flights)65August 2025: 73% on-time (30,090 flights)73Aug 2025September 2025: 79% on-time (28,867 flights)79October 2025: 77% on-time (31,096 flights)77November 2025: 76% on-time (28,703 flights)76Nov 2025December 2025: 65% on-time (27,790 flights)65January 2026: 71% on-time (25,131 flights)71February 2026: 78% on-time (25,538 flights)78Feb 2026March 2026: 69% on-time (31,373 flights)69April 2026: 74% on-time (33,206 flights)74May 2026: 77% on-time (33,733 flights)77May 2026June 2026: 73% on-time (31,374 flights)73July 2026: 72% on-time (33,010 flights)72

Best time of day to depart from ORD

On-time percentage by scheduled departure hour at ORD5 a.m.: 90% on-time (6,604 flights)56 a.m.: 90% on-time (21,312 flights)67 a.m.: 89% on-time (48,016 flights)78 a.m.: 85% on-time (58,609 flights)89 a.m.: 82% on-time (48,865 flights)910 a.m.: 80% on-time (50,121 flights)1011 a.m.: 77% on-time (33,813 flights)1112 p.m.: 78% on-time (33,536 flights)121 p.m.: 77% on-time (44,962 flights)132 p.m.: 75% on-time (46,840 flights)143 p.m.: 72% on-time (35,784 flights)154 p.m.: 70% on-time (38,511 flights)165 p.m.: 68% on-time (33,803 flights)176 p.m.: 69% on-time (53,576 flights)187 p.m.: 62% on-time (44,586 flights)198 p.m.: 63% on-time (45,222 flights)209 p.m.: 64% on-time (28,899 flights)2110 p.m.: 62% on-time (11,194 flights)2211 p.m.: 67% on-time (1,016 flights)23scheduled departure hour

By day of week

DayOn-timeAvg delay
Monday73%23 min
Tuesdaybest78%17 min
Wednesday75%20 min
Thursday73%20 min
Friday70%23 min
Saturday76%19 min
Sunday70%24 min

Next: compare the busiest routes from ORD ↓

Busiest routes from ORD

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
ORD → LGA (New York)11,61171%24 min
ORD → BOS (Boston)7,75571%23 min
ORD → DCA (Washington)7,04271%24 min
ORD → LAX (Los Angeles)7,02376%18 min
ORD → DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth)6,99772%25 min
ORD → ATL (Atlanta)6,44275%21 min
ORD → MSP (Minneapolis)6,34472%22 min
ORD → MCO (Orlando)6,27275%20 min
ORD → DEN (Denver)6,13876%19 min
ORD → IAH (Houston)6,11476%18 min
ORD → EWR (Newark)6,07169%27 min
ORD → DTW (Detroit)5,95376%20 min
ORD → SFO (San Francisco)5,61672%21 min
ORD → PHX (Phoenix)5,58677%19 min
ORD → SEA (Seattle)5,55872%19 min
ORD → MKE (Milwaukee)5,26867%30 min
ORD → IND (Indianapolis)5,26278%17 min
ORD → LAS (Las Vegas)5,24176%17 min
ORD → BNA (Nashville)5,02673%22 min
ORD → PHL (Philadelphia)5,00872%26 min
ORD → CMH (Columbus)4,93376%18 min
ORD → CLE (Cleveland)4,86774%21 min
ORD → CVG (Cincinnati)4,67275%19 min
ORD → MIA (Miami)4,45276%17 min
ORD → CLT (Charlotte)4,39375%22 min
ORD → MCI (Kansas City)4,19774%20 min
ORD → MSN (Madison)4,10374%21 min
ORD → GRR (Grand Rapids)4,02973%21 min
ORD → PIT (Pittsburgh)4,00076%20 min
ORD → SAN (San Diego)3,87073%20 min
ORD → RDU (Raleigh/Durham)3,65676%19 min
ORD → FLL (Fort Lauderdale)3,46475%19 min
ORD → DSM (Des Moines)3,41373%21 min
ORD → RSW (Fort Myers)3,23879%15 min
ORD → SLC (Salt Lake City)3,20473%23 min
ORD → TPA (Tampa)3,20376%19 min
ORD → AUS (Austin)3,17474%19 min
ORD → STL (St. Louis)3,09075%19 min
ORD → OMA (Omaha)3,06072%20 min
ORD → PDX (Portland)2,80574%18 min
ORD → SDF (Louisville)2,79377%17 min
ORD → TVC (Traverse City)2,77067%28 min
ORD → FWA (Fort Wayne)2,76567%27 min
ORD → CID (Cedar Rapids/Iowa City)2,75570%25 min
ORD → SBN (South Bend)2,73767%29 min
ORD → GRB (Green Bay)2,69872%22 min
ORD → BWI (Baltimore)2,69175%18 min
ORD → OKC (Oklahoma City)2,61773%22 min
ORD → MEM (Memphis)2,50473%18 min
ORD → ATW (Appleton)2,42971%23 min

Compare airlines departing ORD ↓

Where flights into ORD come from

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
LGA (New York) → ORD11,61172%25 min
BOS (Boston) → ORD7,75075%21 min
DCA (Washington) → ORD7,04877%21 min
LAX (Los Angeles) → ORD7,02579%18 min
DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth) → ORD7,00171%24 min
ATL (Atlanta) → ORD6,44073%23 min
MSP (Minneapolis) → ORD6,34474%21 min
MCO (Orlando) → ORD6,27673%22 min

Most reliable routes

  1. ORD → BIS84%
  2. ORD → BIL83%
  3. ORD → MHT82%
  4. ORD → PNS82%
  5. ORD → HHH80%

Most delay-prone routes

  1. ORD → CKB46%
  2. ORD → SHD50%
  3. ORD → SAF52%
  4. ORD → FAT52%
  5. ORD → ASE57%

What causes delays at ORD

Share of total delay minutes by cause, as reported by carriers to the US DOT, weighted across routes departing ORD.

  • Late-arriving aircraft41%
  • Airline operations30%
  • National airspace system21%
  • Weather9%

Alternative airports near Chicago

Other airports within 120 miles, compared on departure reliability.

AirportDistanceOn-time departuresAvg delay
MDW — Chicago Midway International Airport15 mi74%16 min
RFD — Chicago Rockford International Airport63 mi74%28 min
MKE — General Mitchell International Airport67 mi81%16 min
SBN — South Bend International Airport84 mi77%24 min
MSN — Dane County Regional Truax Field108 mi83%18 min

Compare the airport-level record first, then check the exact route you plan to book.

Airline performance at ORD

AirlineOn-time departuresAvg delayFlights
Republic Airways82%14 min58,928
Envoy Air79%14 min100,376
United Airlines77%18 min201,267
Delta Air Lines77%22 min22,946
JetBlue Airways77%24 min2,452
Southwest Airlines76%16 min8,900
Alaska Airlines73%18 min6,671
SkyWest Airlines73%25 min140,138
Frontier Airlines71%32 min7,930
Spirit Airlines70%24 min12,360
American Airlines70%26 min119,987
PSA Airlines63%51 min3,619

Frequently asked questions

How often are flights delayed at ORD?
25% of departures from Chicago O'Hare International Airport left 15+ minutes late between 2024-07 and 2026-07, with an average departure delay of 20 minutes. The national on-time average over the same period was 78%.
What is the best time of day to depart from ORD?
Flights scheduled around 5 a.m. depart on time 90% of the time at ORD, versus 62% around 10 p.m.. Booking before noon is the usual rule of thumb here.
What is the worst month for delays at ORD?
In this dataset, July 2025 was the weakest month at ORD, with 65% of departures on time.
How often are flights cancelled at ORD?
2% of scheduled departures from ORD were cancelled in this period, compared with a national rate of 1.6%.

Popular route pages from this airport

Related guides

Based on 685,585 flights, 2024-07–2026-07. Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Updated 2026-09-28.