Washington (DCA) – Chicago (MDW)
- Distance
- 966 km
- 600 mi · 522 nm
- Flight time
- 1 h 57 min / 1 h 45 min
- Average gate to gate: DCA → MDW / back
- Time difference
- 1 h
- CO2 per passenger
- 121 kg
- One way, economy, incl. RF (72 kg CO2 only)
- Passengers / year
- 427,323
- Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 · −6.0%
- Flights / week
- 79
- Both directions, average
- Seats filled
- 66%
- 650,534 seats a year
- Airlines nonstop
- 1
- WN
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 DCA
- 293°
- Heading from MDW
- 106°
- Halfway point
- 40.44, -82.28
- Great-circle km
- 964 km (sphere, for EU261)
- In the air DCA → MDW
- 1 h 35 min
- In the air MDW → DCA
- 1 h 22 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 | 41,344 |
| Sep 2025 | 35,484 |
| Oct 2025 | 40,947 |
| Nov 2025 | 31,126 |
| Dec 2025 | 32,306 |
| Jan 2026 | 21,217 |
| Feb 2026 | 22,143 |
| Mar 2026 | 35,624 |
| Apr 2026 | 37,820 |
| May 2026 | 43,440 |
| Jun 2026 | 42,712 |
| Jul 2026 | 43,160 |
Show as a table
| Month | Flights |
|---|---|
| Aug 2025 | 356 |
| Sep 2025 | 352 |
| Oct 2025 | 362 |
| Nov 2025 | 314 |
| Dec 2025 | 345 |
| Jan 2026 | 334 |
| Feb 2026 | 309 |
| Mar 2026 | 346 |
| Apr 2026 | 342 |
| May 2026 | 353 |
| Jun 2026 | 338 |
| Jul 2026 | 331 |
Airlines flying DCA–MDW nonstop
| Airline | Flights / week | Share of passengers |
|---|---|---|
| WNSouthwest Airlines | 79 | 100% |
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 · 1,806 flights
- Boeing B737 Max 800 · 1,426 flights
- Boeing 737-800 · 850 flights
Also carried: 109 tonnes of freight and 0 tonnes of mail a year (passenger and cargo flights).
Punctuality
- On time
- 73.4%
- Arrived within 15 min of schedule
- Average delay
- 17 min
- Late arrivals count, early ones as 0
- Cancelled
- 2.3%
- Flights counted
- 4,199
- Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
Delay minutes by cause: airline 22% · aircraft arriving late 47% · air traffic system 28% · weather 3% · 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
- $227
- One way, all cabins
- Average over a year
- $196
- Q2 2025 – Q1 2026
- Largest airline
- Southwest Airlines
- 99% of passengers · $226
- Lowest-fare airline
- Southwest Airlines
- 99% of passengers · $226
History, not a price to book: what the average passenger paid per one-way trip in each quarter (Q2 2025 $185 · Q3 2025 $179 · Q4 2025 $206 · Q1 2026 $227).
Fare outlook, Q1 2027: about $232, likely $200–$264
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 8.7%). 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 5% 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: 964 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