FlightRecord

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

Data through May 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 974 departures a day to 193 destinations.

Departures on-time
75%
left <15 min late
Avg dep delay
20 min
Arrivals on-time
75%
Cancelled
1.8%
Destinations
193
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.
91% on-time
Best day to fly
Tuesday
77% on-time
Most reliable airline here
Republic Airways
82% on-time from ORD
Cancellation risk
1.8%
close to the US average
Check routes from ORD ↓Compare nearby airports ↓

Monthly on-time trend

Monthly departure on-time percentage at ORD50%75%100%June 2024: 71% on-time (24,207 flights)71Jun 2024July 2024: 68% on-time (24,531 flights)68August 2024: 71% on-time (25,500 flights)71September 2024: 84% on-time (24,847 flights)84Sep 2024October 2024: 86% on-time (25,211 flights)86November 2024: 85% on-time (22,435 flights)85December 2024: 78% on-time (22,668 flights)78Dec 2024January 2025: 80% on-time (21,643 flights)80February 2025: 79% on-time (19,989 flights)79March 2025: 78% on-time (24,580 flights)78Mar 2025April 2025: 82% on-time (26,136 flights)82May 2025: 80% on-time (27,990 flights)80June 2025: 71% on-time (29,641 flights)71Jun 2025July 2025: 65% on-time (30,503 flights)65August 2025: 73% on-time (30,090 flights)73September 2025: 79% on-time (28,867 flights)79Sep 2025October 2025: 77% on-time (31,096 flights)77November 2025: 76% on-time (28,703 flights)76December 2025: 65% on-time (27,790 flights)65Dec 2025January 2026: 71% on-time (25,131 flights)71February 2026: 78% on-time (25,538 flights)78March 2026: 69% on-time (31,373 flights)69Mar 2026April 2026: 74% on-time (33,206 flights)74May 2026: 77% on-time (33,733 flights)77

Best time of day to depart from ORD

On-time percentage by scheduled departure hour at ORD5 a.m.: 91% on-time (6,220 flights)56 a.m.: 90% on-time (18,473 flights)67 a.m.: 89% on-time (46,200 flights)78 a.m.: 85% on-time (55,714 flights)89 a.m.: 82% on-time (47,130 flights)910 a.m.: 80% on-time (46,886 flights)1011 a.m.: 77% on-time (31,248 flights)1112 p.m.: 78% on-time (31,348 flights)121 p.m.: 78% on-time (42,711 flights)132 p.m.: 75% on-time (44,789 flights)143 p.m.: 73% on-time (33,082 flights)154 p.m.: 71% on-time (35,756 flights)165 p.m.: 69% on-time (30,683 flights)176 p.m.: 70% on-time (52,499 flights)187 p.m.: 62% on-time (42,259 flights)198 p.m.: 63% on-time (44,639 flights)209 p.m.: 65% on-time (25,714 flights)2110 p.m.: 62% on-time (9,551 flights)2211 p.m.: 64% on-time (243 flights)23scheduled departure hour

By day of week

DayOn-timeAvg delay
Monday73%22 min
Tuesdaybest77%18 min
Wednesday75%19 min
Thursday73%20 min
Friday70%22 min
Saturday76%18 min
Sunday70%24 min

Next: compare the busiest routes from ORD ↓

Busiest routes from ORD

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
ORD → LGA (New York)11,63471%24 min
ORD → BOS (Boston)7,56172%22 min
ORD → LAX (Los Angeles)6,98176%18 min
ORD → DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth)6,92572%24 min
ORD → DCA (Washington)6,91871%24 min
ORD → MCO (Orlando)6,41975%19 min
ORD → ATL (Atlanta)6,39175%21 min
ORD → MSP (Minneapolis)6,33071%22 min
ORD → DEN (Denver)6,19876%19 min
ORD → IAH (Houston)6,05976%18 min
ORD → EWR (Newark)5,99269%27 min
ORD → DTW (Detroit)5,96176%20 min
ORD → PHX (Phoenix)5,63277%18 min
ORD → SFO (San Francisco)5,60773%20 min
ORD → SEA (Seattle)5,56172%19 min
ORD → LAS (Las Vegas)5,36777%17 min
ORD → IND (Indianapolis)5,19078%16 min
ORD → MKE (Milwaukee)5,16767%30 min
ORD → BNA (Nashville)5,03173%22 min
ORD → CLE (Cleveland)4,94374%21 min
ORD → PHL (Philadelphia)4,81872%25 min
ORD → CMH (Columbus)4,79476%18 min
ORD → CVG (Cincinnati)4,60774%19 min
ORD → MIA (Miami)4,45477%17 min
ORD → CLT (Charlotte)4,22875%22 min
ORD → MCI (Kansas City)4,11674%20 min
ORD → GRR (Grand Rapids)4,10373%21 min
ORD → MSN (Madison)3,95673%22 min
ORD → PIT (Pittsburgh)3,91076%20 min
ORD → SAN (San Diego)3,74274%20 min
ORD → RDU (Raleigh/Durham)3,53576%19 min
ORD → DSM (Des Moines)3,41973%21 min
ORD → FLL (Fort Lauderdale)3,41675%19 min
ORD → TPA (Tampa)3,25976%19 min
ORD → RSW (Fort Myers)3,24279%16 min
ORD → SLC (Salt Lake City)3,17473%22 min
ORD → AUS (Austin)3,17274%19 min
ORD → STL (St. Louis)3,05875%19 min
ORD → OMA (Omaha)2,99872%20 min
ORD → GRB (Green Bay)2,84071%23 min
ORD → SDF (Louisville)2,79777%17 min
ORD → CID (Cedar Rapids/Iowa City)2,73570%25 min
ORD → PDX (Portland)2,73074%17 min
ORD → BWI (Baltimore)2,69476%17 min
ORD → SBN (South Bend)2,67467%29 min
ORD → FWA (Fort Wayne)2,63867%27 min
ORD → ATW (Appleton)2,61871%24 min
ORD → OKC (Oklahoma City)2,58573%22 min
ORD → TVC (Traverse City)2,53967%29 min
ORD → MEM (Memphis)2,43874%18 min

Compare airlines departing ORD ↓

Where flights into ORD come from

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
LGA (New York) → ORD11,63373%25 min
BOS (Boston) → ORD7,55675%20 min
LAX (Los Angeles) → ORD6,98180%17 min
DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth) → ORD6,93371%23 min
DCA (Washington) → ORD6,92277%20 min
MCO (Orlando) → ORD6,42273%22 min
ATL (Atlanta) → ORD6,39073%22 min
MSP (Minneapolis) → ORD6,33173%21 min

Most reliable routes

  1. ORD → BIS83%
  2. ORD → PNS82%
  3. ORD → MHT81%
  4. ORD → BIL80%
  5. ORD → ECP80%

Most delay-prone routes

  1. ORD → FAT50%
  2. ORD → IDA57%
  3. ORD → ASE57%
  4. ORD → ONT58%
  5. ORD → SHD59%

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 aircraft40%
  • 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 mi75%15 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%17 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%13 min54,690
Envoy Air78%14 min93,949
United Airlines77%17 min190,032
Delta Air Lines77%22 min21,751
Southwest Airlines77%16 min9,353
JetBlue Airways76%25 min2,243
Alaska Airlines73%17 min6,241
SkyWest Airlines73%25 min129,934
American Airlines70%25 min112,867
Frontier Airlines70%32 min7,570
Spirit Airlines70%25 min13,147
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 2024-06 and 2026-05, 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 91% 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?
1.8% 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 645,408 flights, 2024-06–2026-05. Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Updated 2026-07-01.