Fort Lauderdale (FLL) – Chicago (MDW)

Distance, flight time and the airlines that fly it, from open data.
Distance
1,877 km
1,166 mi · 1,014 nm
Flight time
3 h 5 min / 2 h 52 min
Average gate to gate: FLL → MDW / back
Time difference
1 h
CO2 per passenger
237 kg
One way, economy, incl. RF (140 kg CO2 only)
Passengers / year
304,113
Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 · −0.1%
Flights / week
42
Both directions, average
Seats filled
82%
370,949 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

Great circle from FLL to MDWFLLMDW
Shortest path over the earth's surface (great circle). Real flights bend around weather, winds and airspace.

The way there

Heading from FLL
340°
Heading from MDW
156°
Halfway point
33.99, -83.60
Great-circle km
1,881 km (sphere, for EU261)
In the air FLL → MDW
2 h 43 min
In the air MDW → FLL
2 h 31 min
Clocks
Chicago is 1 h behind Fort Lauderdale

The estimate for a route without real times is 3 h; how it is worked out is on Sources.

Passengers per month, both directions (Aug 2025 – Jul 2026)Busiest: March 2026: 28,660 passengers
010K20K30KAugSepOctNovDecJanFebMar28.7KAprMayJunJul
Show as a table
Month Passengers
Aug 202523,656
Sep 202521,032
Oct 202524,746
Nov 202523,008
Dec 202525,510
Jan 202625,678
Feb 202623,926
Mar 202628,660
Apr 202624,292
May 202627,846
Jun 202627,837
Jul 202627,922
Flights per month, both directions (Aug 2025 – Jul 2026)Busiest: March 2026: 204 flights
0100200300AugSepOctNovDecJanFebMar204AprMayJunJul
Show as a table
Month Flights
Aug 2025165
Sep 2025163
Oct 2025182
Nov 2025179
Dec 2025194
Jan 2026192
Feb 2026183
Mar 2026204
Apr 2026190
May 2026194
Jun 2026178
Jul 2026181

Airlines flying FLL–MDW nonstop

Airline Flights / week Share of passengers
WNSouthwest Airlines42
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 B737 Max 800 · 1,129 flights
  • Boeing 737-800 · 642 flights
  • Boeing 737-700/700LR/Max 7 · 434 flights

Also carried: 523 tonnes of freight and 0 tonnes of mail a year (passenger and cargo flights).

Punctuality

On time
72.5%
Arrived within 15 min of schedule
Average delay
16 min
Late arrivals count, early ones as 0
Cancelled
1.5%
Flights counted
2,247
Aug 2025 – Jul 2026

Delay minutes by cause: airline 34% · aircraft arriving late 43% · air traffic system 19% · weather 2% · security 1%.

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
$243
One way, all cabins
Average over a year
$203
Q2 2025 – Q1 2026
Largest airline
Southwest Airlines
98% of passengers · $242
Lowest-fare airline
Southwest Airlines
98% of passengers · $242

History, not a price to book: what the average passenger paid per one-way trip in each quarter (Q2 2025 $198 · Q3 2025 $172 · Q4 2025 $204 · Q1 2026 $243).

Fare outlook, Q1 2027: about $248, likely $215–$283

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 81% of the time over 21 quarters (median error 9%). 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: Q3, typically 8% 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: 1,881 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 Fort Lauderdale and Chicago

Kilometres. Linked numbers have a page of their own. All Chicago airports

More routes from FLL

Route Distance Passengers / year
FLL → ATL934 km 2,312,293
FLL → LGA1,731 km 1,383,766
FLL → EWR1,713 km 1,376,885
FLL → JFK1,720 km 1,077,715
FLL → ORD1,902 km 1,065,643
FLL → PHL1,597 km 992,476
FLL → DFW1,801 km 934,660
FLL → BOS1,991 km 912,060
FLL → CLT1,016 km 889,786
FLL → DTW1,814 km 861,720

More routes from MDW

Route Distance Passengers / year
MDW → ATL951 km 840,489
MDW → PHX2,323 km 788,277
MDW → MCO1,593 km 755,500
MDW → LAS2,447 km 682,595
MDW → DEN1,441 km 626,385
MDW → LGA1,167 km 606,705
MDW → DAL1,277 km 561,465
MDW → MSP561 km 512,725
MDW → HOU1,508 km 505,727
MDW → MCI651 km 485,191

Questions

Fort Lauderdale (FLL) and Chicago (MDW) are 1,877 km (1,166 miles, 1,014 nautical miles) apart, measured along the shortest path over the earth's surface.