Chicago (MDW) – St. Louis (STL)
- Distance
- 404 km
- 251 mi · 218 nm
- Flight time
- 1 h 4 min / 1 h 2 min
- Average gate to gate: MDW → STL / back
- Time difference
- none
- CO2 per passenger
- 93 kg
- One way, economy, incl. RF (55 kg CO2 only)
- Passengers / year
- 348,304
- Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 · +0.3%
- Flights / week
- 67
- Both directions, average
- Seats filled
- 63%
- 554,137 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 MDW
- 214°
- Heading from STL
- 33°
- Halfway point
- 40.27, -89.09
- Great-circle km
- 404 km (sphere, for EU261)
- In the air MDW → STL
- 45 min
- In the air STL → MDW
- 45 min
- Clocks
- Same time in both
The estimate for a route without real times is 1 h 15 min; how it is worked out is on Sources.
Show as a table
| Month | Passengers |
|---|---|
| Aug 2025 | 34,198 |
| Sep 2025 | 32,552 |
| Oct 2025 | 29,650 |
| Nov 2025 | 24,341 |
| Dec 2025 | 25,595 |
| Jan 2026 | 18,087 |
| Feb 2026 | 17,877 |
| Mar 2026 | 29,563 |
| Apr 2026 | 28,874 |
| May 2026 | 30,715 |
| Jun 2026 | 37,678 |
| Jul 2026 | 39,174 |
Show as a table
| Month | Flights |
|---|---|
| Aug 2025 | 312 |
| Sep 2025 | 302 |
| Oct 2025 | 263 |
| Nov 2025 | 248 |
| Dec 2025 | 285 |
| Jan 2026 | 243 |
| Feb 2026 | 225 |
| Mar 2026 | 287 |
| Apr 2026 | 308 |
| May 2026 | 315 |
| Jun 2026 | 328 |
| Jul 2026 | 351 |
Airlines flying MDW–STL nonstop
| Airline | Flights / week | Share of passengers |
|---|---|---|
| WNSouthwest Airlines | 67 | 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 · 1,475 flights
- Boeing B737 Max 800 · 1,148 flights
- Boeing 737-800 · 844 flights
Also carried: 197 tonnes of freight and 0 tonnes of mail a year (passenger and cargo flights).
Punctuality
- On time
- 81%
- Arrived within 15 min of schedule
- Average delay
- 12 min
- Late arrivals count, early ones as 0
- Cancelled
- 1.3%
- Flights counted
- 3,412
- Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
Delay minutes by cause: airline 31% · aircraft arriving late 51% · air traffic system 15% · 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
- $247
- One way, all cabins
- Average over a year
- $221
- Q2 2025 – Q1 2026
- Largest airline
- Southwest Airlines
- 100% of passengers · $247
- Lowest-fare airline
- Southwest Airlines
- 100% of passengers · $247
History, not a price to book: what the average passenger paid per one-way trip in each quarter (Q2 2025 $212 · Q3 2025 $214 · Q4 2025 $223 · Q1 2026 $247).
Fare outlook, Q1 2027: about $252, likely $218–$287
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 86% of the time over 21 quarters (median error 5.8%). 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: 404 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 Chicago and St. Louis
Kilometres. Linked numbers have a page of their own. All Chicago airports