SAN to MDW flight delays & on-time performance
Nonstop flights from San Diego International Airport to Chicago Midway International Airport · 1,728 miles · Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
- SAN: Airport closed. Closed, expected to reopen Oct 11 at 13:00 UTC.
On-time arrivals
78%
arrived < 15 min late
Cancelled
1.0%
11 flights
Avg arrival delay
12 min
47 min when late
Airlines
1
1,093 flights tracked
Key facts
- Flights from San Diego (SAN) to Chicago (MDW) arrived on time 78% of the time in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, in line with the national average.
- 1% were cancelled, and 5% arrived an hour or more late.
- Southwest Airlines is the only airline reporting nonstop flights on this route.
- Departures scheduled around 10pm did best (95% on time); around 3pm did worst (30%).
- Wednesday was the most reliable day to fly (90% on time) and Thursday the least (70%).
- The largest source of delay minutes was late-arriving aircraft (49%).
Which airline is most on time from SAN 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines | 78% | 1.0% | 12 min | 5.3% | 1,093 |
Best time of day to fly
On-time arrival rate by scheduled departure hour (local time).
- 6am90%272 flights
- 7am85%55 flights
- 8am82%45 flights
- 10am80%114 flights
- 11am71%86 flights
- 12pm66%94 flights
- 1pm59%41 flights
- 3pm30%34 flights
- 4pm70%38 flights
- 5pm68%57 flights
- 6pm61%76 flights
- 7pm53%31 flights
- 10pm95%149 flights
Best day of the week
On-time arrival rate by day of departure.
- Monday72%0.6% cancelled
- Tuesday82%0.0% cancelled
- Wednesday90%0.7% cancelled
- Thursday70%1.2% cancelled
- Friday74%0.0% cancelled
- Saturday89%0.8% cancelled
- Sunday70%4.0% 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 aircraft49%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)32%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion17%
- Security1%
- Extreme weather0%
Why flights are cancelled
Share of cancellations by reason.
- Extreme weather64%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)18%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion18%
- Security0%
SAN to MDW: common questions
- How often are SAN to MDW flights on time?
- 78% 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 San Diego to Chicago cancelled?
- 1.0% of scheduled flights were cancelled (11 of 1,093).
- How long are typical delays?
- Across all flights the average arrival delay was 12 min (early arrivals count as zero). Flights that were late arrived 47 min behind schedule on average, and 5.3% of flights were an hour or more late.
- How long is taxi time at SAN?
- Flights on this route spent 18 min taxiing from the gate to takeoff on average.
Related routes
Return trip: MDW to SAN — 72% on time
More flights from San Diego
Data: U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 (12 months). Latest month published by BTS: July 2026. Route: SAN → MDW, nonstop flights by US airlines that report to the DOT. How we calculate this.