ORD to LEX flight delays & on-time performance
Nonstop flights from Chicago O'Hare International Airport to Blue Grass Airport · 323 miles · Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
No FAA-reported ground stops or delays at ORD or LEX right now. Individual flights can still be delayed by the airline; check with your airline for your flight.
Key facts
- Flights from Chicago (ORD) to Lexington (LEX) arrived on time 71% of the time in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, worse than the 78% national average.
- 3.2% were cancelled, and 12% arrived an hour or more late.
- Envoy Air was the most punctual airline here (73% on time); SkyWest Airlines was the least (70%).
- Departures scheduled around 10am did best (77% on time); around 5pm did worst (63%).
- Tuesday was the most reliable day to fly (76% on time) and Monday the least (65%).
- The largest source of delay minutes was airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling) (36%).
Which airline is most on time from ORD to LEX?
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Envoy AirRegional airline operating American Eagle flights. | 73% | 1.4% | 22 min | 9.3% | 295 |
| SkyWest AirlinesRegional airline operating flights for United Express, Delta Connection, American Eagle and Alaska. | 70% | 3.7% | 29 min | 13.1% | 1,391 |
| PSA AirlinesRegional airline operating American Eagle flights. | 70% | 0.0% | 20 min | 4.3% | 23 |
Best time of day to fly
On-time arrival rate by scheduled departure hour (local time).
- 7am75%55 flights
- 8am75%243 flights
- 10am77%109 flights
- 11am84%31 flights
- 1pm76%146 flights
- 2pm76%224 flights
- 3pm63%194 flights
- 4pm53%48 flights
- 5pm63%96 flights
- 6pm70%116 flights
- 7pm53%19 flights
- 8pm65%195 flights
- 9pm74%185 flights
- 10pm56%42 flights
Best day of the week
On-time arrival rate by day of departure.
- Monday65%7.1% cancelled
- Tuesday76%0.8% cancelled
- Wednesday73%0.8% cancelled
- Thursday71%2.0% cancelled
- Friday70%2.8% cancelled
- Saturday72%6.5% cancelled
- Sunday69%2.8% cancelled
On-time trend by month
Why flights are late
Share of delay minutes by cause, as reported by airlines to the DOT.
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)36%
- Late-arriving aircraft29%
- Extreme weather20%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion16%
- Security0%
Why flights are cancelled
Share of cancellations by reason.
- Extreme weather91%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion9%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)0%
- Security0%
ORD to LEX: common questions
- How often are ORD to LEX flights on time?
- 71% 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 Chicago to Lexington cancelled?
- 3.2% of scheduled flights were cancelled (55 of 1,709).
- How long are typical delays?
- Across all flights the average arrival delay was 27 min (early arrivals count as zero). Flights that were late arrived 89 min behind schedule on average, and 12.3% of flights were an hour or more late.
- How long is taxi time at ORD?
- Flights on this route spent 31 min taxiing from the gate to takeoff on average.
Related routes
Return trip: LEX to ORD — 73% on time
More flights from Chicago
Data: U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 (12 months). Latest month published by BTS: July 2026. Route: ORD → LEX, nonstop flights by US airlines that report to the DOT. How we calculate this.