Kansas City (MCI) – Chicago (MDW)
- Distance
- 651 km
- 404 mi · 351 nm
- Flight time
- 1 h 19 min / 1 h 24 min
- Average gate to gate: MCI → MDW / back
- Time difference
- none
- CO2 per passenger
- 82 kg
- One way, economy, incl. RF (48 kg CO2 only)
- Passengers / year
- 485,191
- Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 · +1.5%
- Flights / week
- 80
- Both directions, average
- Seats filled
- 73%
- 660,836 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 MCI
- 63°
- Heading from MDW
- 247°
- Halfway point
- 40.60, -91.30
- Great-circle km
- 650 km (sphere, for EU261)
- In the air MCI → MDW
- 1 h 2 min
- In the air MDW → MCI
- 1 h 4 min
- Clocks
- Same time in both
The estimate for a route without real times is 1 h 35 min; how it is worked out is on Sources.
Show as a table
| Month | Passengers |
|---|---|
| Aug 2025 | 48,462 |
| Sep 2025 | 45,316 |
| Oct 2025 | 48,702 |
| Nov 2025 | 33,156 |
| Dec 2025 | 35,393 |
| Jan 2026 | 25,295 |
| Feb 2026 | 25,865 |
| Mar 2026 | 38,528 |
| Apr 2026 | 38,593 |
| May 2026 | 43,769 |
| Jun 2026 | 50,166 |
| Jul 2026 | 51,946 |
Show as a table
| Month | Flights |
|---|---|
| Aug 2025 | 382 |
| Sep 2025 | 355 |
| Oct 2025 | 396 |
| Nov 2025 | 301 |
| Dec 2025 | 330 |
| Jan 2026 | 303 |
| Feb 2026 | 270 |
| Mar 2026 | 349 |
| Apr 2026 | 340 |
| May 2026 | 354 |
| Jun 2026 | 392 |
| Jul 2026 | 412 |
Airlines flying MCI–MDW nonstop
| Airline | Flights / week | Share of passengers |
|---|---|---|
| WNSouthwest Airlines | 80 | 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 · 2,019 flights
- Boeing B737 Max 800 · 1,257 flights
- Boeing 737-800 · 908 flights
Also carried: 313 tonnes of freight and 0 tonnes of mail a year (passenger and cargo flights).
Punctuality
- On time
- 79.5%
- Arrived within 15 min of schedule
- Average delay
- 12 min
- Late arrivals count, early ones as 0
- Cancelled
- 1.3%
- Flights counted
- 4,209
- Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
Delay minutes by cause: airline 30% · aircraft arriving late 52% · air traffic system 14% · 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
- $250
- One way, all cabins
- Average over a year
- $223
- Q2 2025 – Q1 2026
- Largest airline
- Southwest Airlines
- 100% of passengers · $250
- Lowest-fare airline
- Southwest Airlines
- 100% of passengers · $250
History, not a price to book: what the average passenger paid per one-way trip in each quarter (Q2 2025 $210 · Q3 2025 $217 · Q4 2025 $226 · Q1 2026 $250).
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: 650 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 Kansas City and Chicago
Kilometres. Linked numbers have a page of their own. All Chicago airports