Route profile
DAL→MDW
Flight reliability, delays and best times to fly from Dallas to Chicago, 793 miles.
Right now
Aviation weather is not currently a factor.
Aviation weather is not currently a factor.
Route reliability
July 2023 – July 2026
Better than 35% of comparable major US routes (4,598 compared)
Calculated from 6,899 flights. How this is calculated
DAL → MDW arrives on time 74.9% of the time; the return trip, MDW → DAL, arrives on time 77.8% of the time, a 2.9-point gap between the two directions of the same city pair.
DAL → MDW spends 18.0 minutes on the ground on a 793-mile trip: 12.9 minutes from pushback to wheels-up at DAL and 5.1 minutes from touchdown to gate at MDW.
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026
What sets this route apart
Where DAL to MDW differs most from similar routes by hour, weekday, month and airline, July 2023 – July 2026.
DAL to MDW struggles most at 7 PM: 59.7% of its flights scheduled then arrive on time, 7.9 points behind the 67.6% on routes of similar length at the same hour. Against all other routes the gap is 8.1 points.
Thursday is the day DAL to MDW slips furthest against routes of similar length, 70.7% on time where they average 76.7%, 6 points lower. Against all other routes the gap is 6.1 points.
In May, DAL to MDW runs 8.8 points below routes of similar length, 65.2% on time to 74.0%. Against all other routes the gap is 10.1 points.
February is kinder to DAL to MDW than to routes of similar length: 86.3% on time against 82.4%, 3.9 points better. Against all other routes the gap is 4.9 points.
Southwest Airlines’ flights on DAL to MDW arrive on time 74.9% of the time, 2.5 points below the 77.4% it manages on its routes of similar length. Against all other routes the gap is 2.5 points.
DAL to MDW against comparable routes
July 2023 – July 2026| Measure | This route | Compared with | Them | Gap | Flights behind it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hour: 7 PM departures | 59.7% | routes of similar length | 67.6% | −7.9 pts | 635 here, 128,497 there |
| Weekday: Thursday | 70.7% | routes of similar length | 76.7% | −6.0 pts | 1,013 here, 326,258 there |
| Month: May | 65.2% | routes of similar length | 74.0% | −8.8 pts | 560 here, 185,844 there |
| Month: February | 86.3% | routes of similar length | 82.4% | +3.9 pts | 401 here, 154,425 there |
| Airline: Southwest Airlines | 74.9% | routes of similar length | 77.4% | −2.5 pts | 6,753 here, 600,102 there |
Each comparison pools the flights of other routes, with this route’s own left out. Similar length means within 15% of this route’s 793 miles, with at least 5 such routes. A bucket is set against the most comparable group that has enough flights: similar length, then the same origin (at least 3 routes), then all other routes. Hours, weekdays and months appear only where both sides have 120 completed flights, and airlines where both have 600. The gap must be at least 2 points and 2 standard errors, and only the largest gap each way is kept per measure. These are differences in the flights counted, not causes.
Why DAL → MDW flights are cancelled
July 2023 – July 2026
DAL → MDW cancelled 108 of 6,899 scheduled flights — about 1 in every 64. The reason filed most often was extreme weather, 80.6% of the cancellations coded on this route — about 1 in every 79 scheduled flights.
Share of cancellations
Of 108 cancelled departures carrying a reason code.
What each reason means
Conditions the carrier judged severe enough to stop the flight: a blizzard, a hurricane, a line of thunderstorms.
87 cancellations, 80.6% of the total.
Crew, maintenance, aircraft cleaning, baggage or fueling: what BTS counts as within the carrier’s own control.
17 cancellations, 15.7% of the total.
Airport capacity, air traffic control flow programs, heavy traffic and ordinary bad weather. A system decision, not the airline’s.
4 cancellations, 3.7% of the total.
A terminal evacuation, a security breach, screening equipment failure, or screening queues over 29 minutes.
0 cancellations, 0.0% of the total.
Reason codes are the operating airline’s own filing with US DOT, not an independent finding of fault. With only one or two carriers on the route, the split mostly reflects how they file. Ordinary bad weather is filed under air traffic, so weather’s full share is larger than its bar.
108 coded cancellations were recorded on DAL → MDW; the section appears from 50.
When it goes wrong
July 2023 – July 2026
46 min late
against a median of 1 min early
Percentiles over 6,899 operations; cancelled and diverted flights are counted separately.
Will your connection be tight enough?
Layovers at MDW after arriving from DAL.
| Connection time | Chance of missing | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 30 min | 46% | Likely to miss |
| 45 min | 24% | High risk |
| 60 min | 15% | High risk |
| 90 min | 7.2% | Some risk |
| 120 min | 3.9% | Low risk |
This is one leg of a connection. Gate changes and the next flight's own schedule matter too. And a connection can fail before delay is even the question — this route cancels 1.57% of the time and diverts 0.55% of the time, which a late arrival never shows up in.
Chance of missing is the share of 6,753 arrivals on this route that landed later than the connection time less 30 minutes to reach the next gate.
The worst tenth of arrivals on this route land at least 46 minutes late (90th-percentile gate arrival delay), over 6,899 operations.
Any other layover length: connection checker.
Best time to fly
DAL → MDW flights departing 5–9 AM arrived on time 90.9% of the time, against 61.5% for 6–9 PM departures, a gap of 29.4 percentage points.
By departure window
By departure hour
- 12 AM to 5 AM: too few flights to score
- 6 AM: 92.1% on time from 798 flights
- 7 AM: 90.5% on time from 621 flights
- 8 AM: 88.5% on time from 273 flights
- 9 AM: 80.8% on time from 285 flights
- 10 AM: 81.0% on time from 344 flights
- 11 AM: 79.8% on time from 380 flights
- 12 PM: 76.8% on time from 399 flights
- 1 PM: 76.0% on time from 235 flights
- 2 PM: 74.3% on time from 550 flights
- 3 PM: 72.6% on time from 233 flights
- 4 PM: 62.0% on time from 405 flights
- 5 PM: 68.7% on time from 496 flights
- 6 PM: 62.3% on time from 331 flights
- 7 PM: 59.7% on time from 652 flights
- 8 PM: 64.5% on time from 283 flights
- 9 PM: 64.8% on time from 280 flights
- 10 PM: 59.4% on time from 334 flights
- 11 PM: too few flights to score
Why DAL → MDW runs late
July 2023 – July 2026
the inbound aircraft was late, so this flight started late
crew, maintenance, boarding and fueling, all within the carrier’s control
airspace and airport capacity, including weather-driven flow control
weather severe enough to stop this flight specifically
screening or terminal security incidents
Share of the delay minutes US DOT attributed to each cause for DAL → MDW. Only delays of 15 minutes or more are attributed.
Late-arriving aircraft is the largest cause on DAL → MDW, at 51.7%: flights here mostly leave late because the plane came in late, and the day shows it: 5–9 AM departures arrived on time 90.9% of the time and 6–9 PM departures 61.5%.
Airlines on this route
Carriers with at least 200 flights, by the airline that operated each one.
| Carrier | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Median delay | Severe |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines | 6,899 | 74.9% | 1.57% | -1 min | 7.4% |
Other ways to fly Dallas–Fort Worth to Chicago
Airport pairs in the same two city markets, as the DOT defines them.
| Route | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Median delay | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DFW→ORD Dallas–Fort Worth to Chicago | 20,478 | 72.9% | 2.02% | -3 min | 48 |
| DAL→MDW this route Dallas to Chicago | 6,899 | 74.9% | 1.57% | -1 min | 60 |
DAL → MDW is the most reliable pairing for this journey at 74.9% on time, against 72.9% for DFW → ORD.
Flying to MDW from the Dallas–Fort Worth area? Compare DAL, DFW for MDW, with the same test for what counts as a real difference.
Weekly and seasonal patterns
By day of week
Tuesday is historically the most reliable day and Thursday the least, a gap of 9.0 percentage points.
By month
- Jan: 79.8%
- Feb: 86.3%
- Mar: 73.5%
- Apr: 76.8%
- May: 65.2%
- Jun: 65.0%
- Jul: 64.4%
- Aug: 75.6%
- Sep: 83.0%
- Oct: 80.0%
- Nov: 81.8%
- Dec: 76.0%
July is historically the weakest month and February the strongest, a spread of 21.9 percentage points.
Reliability over time
July 2023 – July 2026
- July 2023: 65.7% from 209 flights
- August 2023: 74.4% from 213 flights
- September 2023: 85.1% from 196 flights
- October 2023: 81.9% from 205 flights
- November 2023: 85.3% from 197 flights
- December 2023: 80.7% from 208 flights
- January 2024: 76.6% from 158 flights
- February 2024: 89.7% from 137 flights
- March 2024: 80.7% from 172 flights
- April 2024: 82.7% from 187 flights
- May 2024: 62.1% from 201 flights
- June 2024: 74.6% from 194 flights
- July 2024: 70.1% from 201 flights
- August 2024: 80.9% from 199 flights
- September 2024: 86.5% from 192 flights
- October 2024: 78.6% from 196 flights
- November 2024: 85.4% from 189 flights
- December 2024: 74.0% from 195 flights
- January 2025: 85.0% from 160 flights
- February 2025: 87.0% from 134 flights
- March 2025: 78.2% from 180 flights
- April 2025: 77.4% from 195 flights
- May 2025: 68.7% from 203 flights
- June 2025: 63.7% from 197 flights
- July 2025: 65.3% from 202 flights
- August 2025: 71.4% from 192 flights
- September 2025: 77.4% from 190 flights
- October 2025: 79.4% from 195 flights
- November 2025: 73.5% from 177 flights
- December 2025: 73.0% from 191 flights
- January 2026: 77.6% from 156 flights
- February 2026: 82.1% from 137 flights
- March 2026: 61.3% from 171 flights
- April 2026: 69.6% from 172 flights
- May 2026: 64.5% from 176 flights
- June 2026: 56.4% from 195 flights
- July 2026: 57.1% from 227 flights
Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), on-time arrivals averaged 69.7% against 77.1% in the 12 months before — declining by 7.4 percentage points.
Data and methodology
Calculated by FlyerIntel from 6,899 DAL → MDW flight records from the US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, covering July 2023 – July 2026. Late means 15 or more minutes past scheduled arrival; cancelled and diverted flights are left out of on-time rates.
Full methodology · Data sources · Report a problem
Related research: How Long a Layover Needs to Be · Two Airlines on One Route · Best Time of Day to Fly From Major US Airports
Analysis last recomputed