DEN to MDW flight delays & on-time performance
Nonstop flights from Denver International Airport to Chicago Midway International Airport · 895 miles · Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
No FAA-reported ground stops or delays at DEN or MDW right now. Individual flights can still be delayed by the airline; check with your airline for your flight.
Key facts
- Flights from Denver (DEN) to Chicago (MDW) arrived on time 75% of the time in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, worse than the 78% national average.
- 1.6% were cancelled, and 8% arrived an hour or more late.
- Departures scheduled around 6am did best (98% on time); around 5pm did worst (45%).
- Wednesday was the most reliable day to fly (82% on time) and Thursday the least (69%).
- The largest source of delay minutes was late-arriving aircraft (47%).
Which airline is most on time from DEN to MDW?
Ranked by on-time arrival rate. Regional airlines fly under their partner's brand (e.g. SkyWest for Delta Connection or United Express).
| Airline | On time | Cancelled | Avg delay | 1 hr+ late | Flights |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frontier Airlines | 77% | 1.4% | 22 min | 13.7% | 74 |
| Southwest Airlines | 75% | 1.6% | 15 min | 7.4% | 2,151 |
Best time of day to fly
On-time arrival rate by scheduled departure hour (local time).
- 5am93%120 flights
- 6am98%122 flights
- 7am91%179 flights
- 8am91%154 flights
- 9am85%124 flights
- 10am88%167 flights
- 11am82%93 flights
- 12pm79%113 flights
- 1pm77%226 flights
- 2pm64%130 flights
- 3pm69%48 flights
- 4pm80%132 flights
- 5pm45%213 flights
- 6pm66%101 flights
- 7pm51%115 flights
- 8pm46%158 flights
- 9pm66%29 flights
Best day of the week
On-time arrival rate by day of departure.
- Monday74%0.3% cancelled
- Tuesday80%1.0% cancelled
- Wednesday82%2.4% cancelled
- Thursday69%2.1% cancelled
- Friday74%1.9% cancelled
- Saturday76%1.6% cancelled
- Sunday69%2.0% cancelled
On-time trend by month
Why flights are late
Share of delay minutes by cause, as reported by airlines to the DOT.
- Late-arriving aircraft47%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)36%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion16%
- Extreme weather1%
- Security0%
Why flights are cancelled
Share of cancellations by reason.
- Extreme weather56%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion28%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)17%
- Security0%
DEN to MDW: common questions
- How often are DEN to MDW flights on time?
- 75% of flights arrived less than 15 minutes late in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, compared with 78% for all US flights.
- How often are flights from Denver to Chicago cancelled?
- 1.6% of scheduled flights were cancelled (36 of 2,225).
- How long are typical delays?
- Across all flights the average arrival delay was 15 min (early arrivals count as zero). Flights that were late arrived 56 min behind schedule on average, and 7.6% of flights were an hour or more late.
- How long is taxi time at DEN?
- Flights on this route spent 16 min taxiing from the gate to takeoff on average.
Related routes
Return trip: MDW to DEN — 74% on time
More flights from Denver
Data: U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 (12 months). Latest month published by BTS: July 2026. Route: DEN → MDW, nonstop flights by US airlines that report to the DOT. How we calculate this.