Washington (BWI) – Chicago (MDW)
- Distance
- 983 km
- 611 mi · 531 nm
- Flight time
- 1 h 56 min / 1 h 42 min
- Average gate to gate: BWI → MDW / back
- Time difference
- 1 h
- CO2 per passenger
- 123 kg
- One way, economy, incl. RF (73 kg CO2 only)
- Passengers / year
- 442,148
- Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 · −8.7%
- Flights / week
- 70
- Both directions, average
- Seats filled
- 75%
- 590,921 seats a year
- Airlines nonstop
- 2
- WN, F9
Traffic: U.S. DOT, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Segment (all carriers, scheduled service), Aug 2025 – Jul 2026. Distance: WGS-84 ellipsoid. CO2: UK DESNZ 2026 factors. Sources
The way there
- Heading from BWI
- 291°
- Heading from MDW
- 103°
- Halfway point
- 40.61, -82.10
- Great-circle km
- 981 km (sphere, for EU261)
- In the air BWI → MDW
- 1 h 37 min
- In the air MDW → BWI
- 1 h 23 min
- Clocks
- Chicago is 1 h behind Washington
The estimate for a route without real times is 1 h 55 min; how it is worked out is on Sources.
Show as a table
| Month | Passengers |
|---|---|
| Aug 2025 | 48,939 |
| Sep 2025 | 43,906 |
| Oct 2025 | 46,472 |
| Nov 2025 | 34,507 |
| Dec 2025 | 32,682 |
| Jan 2026 | 22,809 |
| Feb 2026 | 22,478 |
| Mar 2026 | 28,416 |
| Apr 2026 | 31,542 |
| May 2026 | 36,372 |
| Jun 2026 | 46,323 |
| Jul 2026 | 47,702 |
Show as a table
| Month | Flights |
|---|---|
| Aug 2025 | 366 |
| Sep 2025 | 361 |
| Oct 2025 | 369 |
| Nov 2025 | 292 |
| Dec 2025 | 278 |
| Jan 2026 | 242 |
| Feb 2026 | 226 |
| Mar 2026 | 239 |
| Apr 2026 | 264 |
| May 2026 | 280 |
| Jun 2026 | 340 |
| Jul 2026 | 358 |
Airlines flying BWI–MDW nonstop
| Airline | Flights / week | Share of passengers |
|---|---|---|
| WNSouthwest Airlines | 67 | 95% |
| F9Frontier Airlines | 2.7 | 5% |
Both directions, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026. Airlines with at least one flight a month. U.S. DOT, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Segment (all carriers, scheduled service). Sources
Aircraft on this route
- Boeing 737-700/700LR/Max 7 · 1,225 flights
- Boeing B737 Max 800 · 1,213 flights
- Boeing 737-800 · 1,037 flights
- Airbus Industrie A320-200n · 138 flights
- Airbus Industrie A320-100/200 · 2 flights
Also carried: 409 tonnes of freight and 0 tonnes of mail a year (passenger and cargo flights).
Punctuality
- On time
- 77.5%
- Arrived within 15 min of schedule
- Average delay
- 15 min
- Late arrivals count, early ones as 0
- Cancelled
- 2.4%
- Flights counted
- 3,695
- Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
| Airline | On time | Average delay |
|---|---|---|
| WNSouthwest Airlines | 77.5% | 15 min |
| F9Frontier Airlines | 79.1% | 18 min |
Delay minutes by cause: airline 30% · aircraft arriving late 48% · air traffic system 16% · weather 5% · security 0%.
Both directions, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026. BTS Reporting Carrier On-Time Performance (US domestic flights of the larger US airlines). Sources
What passengers paid
- Average fare, Q1 2026
- $203
- One way, all cabins
- Average over a year
- $178
- Q2 2025 – Q1 2026
- Largest airline
- Southwest Airlines
- 99% of passengers · $203
- Lowest-fare airline
- Southwest Airlines
- 99% of passengers · $203
History, not a price to book: what the average passenger paid per one-way trip in each quarter (Q2 2025 $179 · Q3 2025 $162 · Q4 2025 $182 · Q1 2026 $203).
Fare outlook, Q1 2027: about $207, likely $179–$236
The average fare paid we expect a year after Q1 2026, the newest DOT quarter. On this route, past forecasts made this way fell inside the range 76% of the time over 21 quarters (median error 9.2%). An estimate from US DOT data: not a price you can book, not a guarantee, not advice on when to buy. How the outlook works
Cheapest quarter on this route: Q1, typically 3% below the year's average (9 years of DOT data, without 2020–21).
U.S. DOT Consumer Airfare Report, Table 1a (airline ticket sample, US domestic airport pairs). Sources
Delay compensation (EU261 / UK261)
Measured by great-circle distance: 981 km.
Neither EU261 nor UK261 covers this route: it neither starts nor ends in the EU, EEA, Switzerland or the UK. Other countries have their own rules (for example Canada's APPR or Brazil's ANAC rules).
Also owed for a cancellation with less than 14 days' notice or denied boarding. Not owed for extraordinary circumstances. On a connection, the distance to the final destination counts. From 23 October 2027 the EU's Regulation 2026/2202 applies; it keeps these amounts (what changes in 2027). Information, not legal advice.
Every airport pair between Washington and Chicago
Kilometres. Linked numbers have a page of their own. All Washington airports · All Chicago airports