Airport month record
MDWAPR
Chicago Midway International in April 2026
- Departures
- 6,282
- Month
- April 2026
- National, same month
- 79.8%
- Carriers
- 4
Historical statistics for April 2026, not live status or a forecast for this year’s April. For today’s conditions at MDW, see live FAA status.
MDW in April lands a B, 2 points worse than the national rate of 79.8%. Roughly one flight in four arrives 15 minutes late or worse, and those flights are late by roughly 50 minutes on average. That is a workable record, not a spotless one. That rests on 6,282 flights, with a median arrival 3 minutes early.
Key figures
On time
77.6%
Arrivals under 15 minutes late, of 6,201 completed departures
Avg delay
52 min
Across delayed arrivals only, not all flights
Cancelled
1.18%
Nationally in April: 0.90%
Whole year
75.1%
MDW across all twelve months
These figures cover 6,282 departures from Chicago Midway International in April 2026. On time means an arrival less than 15 minutes after the scheduled gate time, the DOT's threshold, and the national comparison uses every US departure in the same month rather than the whole year.
Against the year
April next to MDW's other months
Against MDW's own year, April ran 3 points better than the twelve-month rate of 75.1%, which makes it number seven of twelve months, best first. Either side of it, March ran 68.7% on time and May 74.0%, so a trip moved by a few weeks would have landed in a worse stretch.
| Month | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2025 | 7,531 | 67.2% | 69 min | 1.81% | C |
| August 2025 | 6,731 | 77.8% | 58 min | 0.74% | B+ |
| September 2025 | 6,459 | 84.1% | 46 min | 0.06% | B+ |
| October 2025 | 6,536 | 80.2% | 45 min | 0.17% | B+ |
| November 2025 | 5,620 | 80.6% | 59 min | 4.96% | B− |
| December 2025 | 5,738 | 69.7% | 57 min | 0.45% | C+ |
| January 2026 | 4,848 | 80.9% | 50 min | 2.15% | B |
| February 2026 | 4,537 | 81.6% | 46 min | 0.90% | B+ |
| March 2026 | 6,508 | 68.7% | 67 min | 3.89% | C− |
| April 2026 (this page) | 6,282 | 77.6% | 52 min | 1.18% | B |
| May 2026 | 6,269 | 74.0% | 53 min | 0.35% | C+ |
| June 2026 | 6,937 | 64.2% | 60 min | 1.53% | D |
Departure window
The best time of day to leave MDW in April
Departure time matters more here than the choice of carrier. The gap between the best and worst window is 35 points, against half a point between the best and worst carrier. Each bar is the on-time rate for flights scheduled inside that window.
- 5am–8am899 flights90.2%
- 8am–11am1,507 flights84.4%
- 11am–2pm1,012 flights82.5%
- 2pm–5pm804 flights75.7%
- 5pm–8pm1,177 flights72.4%
- 8pm–5am883 flights55.3%
Scale runs 45% to 95%. Rows with fewer than 30 flights show a dash.
The 8pm–5am window is where this operation falls apart: 55.3% on time, against 90.2% for the 5am–8am slot. By evening the aircraft flying these rotations have absorbed a full day of small delays and there is no slack left to recover in. The 8am–11am window is the busiest, with 1,507 flights scheduled in it.
Across the week, Wednesday is the strongest day at 83.5% on time and Thursday the weakest at 71.3%. 12 points is a smaller lever than departure hour, but it is free.
Carrier by carrier
Which airlines ran best at MDW in April
Only one carrier clears this site's 365-flight floor here, so there is no comparison to draw. The table below is the full picture.
| Airline | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines | 5,925 | 77.1% | 50 min | 1.13% | B |
| Frontier Airlinesthin sample | 133 | 81.5% | 107 min | 2.26% | B |
| Delta Air Linesthin sample | 116 | 89.4% | 56 min | 1.72% | A |
| SkyWest Airlinesthin sample | 90 | 84.1% | 60 min | 2.22% | B |
Route by route
Busiest routes out of MDW in April
| Route | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MDW to ATL · Atlantathin sample | 291 | 85.0% | 42 min | 1.03% | A |
| MDW to PHX · Phoenixthin sample | 251 | 68.3% | 53 min | 0.80% | C+ |
| MDW to MSP · Minneapolisthin sample | 220 | 82.9% | 67 min | 1.82% | B |
| MDW to MCO · Orlandothin sample | 218 | 80.2% | 63 min | 0.46% | B+ |
| MDW to LGA · New Yorkthin sample | 196 | 68.8% | 47 min | 1.02% | C |
| MDW to LAS · Las Vegasthin sample | 193 | 76.8% | 53 min | 1.55% | B |
| MDW to DCA · Washingtonthin sample | 173 | 70.9% | 53 min | 0.58% | C+ |
| MDW to DAL · Dallasthin sample | 172 | 80.4% | 44 min | 2.33% | B |
| MDW to MCI · Kansas Citythin sample | 172 | 81.7% | 42 min | 1.16% | B |
| MDW to BNA · Nashvillethin sample | 166 | 84.0% | 52 min | 1.81% | B |
| MDW to DEN · Denverthin sample | 161 | 73.0% | 64 min | 1.24% | C |
| MDW to STL · St. Louisthin sample | 151 | 85.2% | 63 min | 1.32% | A |
| MDW to HOU · Houstonthin sample | 150 | 75.5% | 36 min | 2.00% | B |
| MDW to BWI · Baltimorethin sample | 133 | 79.4% | 53 min | 1.50% | B |
| MDW to TPA · Tampathin sample | 132 | 82.2% | 62 min | 2.27% | B |
| MDW to AUS · Austinthin sample | 124 | 74.8% | 34 min | 0.81% | C+ |
| MDW to BOS · Bostonthin sample | 119 | 72.3% | 63 min | 0.00% | C+ |
| MDW to PHL · Philadelphiathin sample | 111 | 86.4% | 41 min | 0.00% | A+ |
| MDW to OMA · Omahathin sample | 104 | 67.0% | 51 min | 0.96% | C+ |
| MDW to LAX · Los Angelesthin sample | 103 | 64.4% | 37 min | 1.94% | D |
| MDW to RSW · Fort Myersthin sample | 103 | 87.0% | 48 min | 0.97% | A+ |
| MDW to SAN · San Diegothin sample | 103 | 67.6% | 43 min | 0.97% | C+ |
| MDW to FLL · Fort Lauderdalethin sample | 97 | 86.5% | 76 min | 1.03% | A |
| MDW to MSY · New Orleansthin sample | 91 | 76.4% | 40 min | 2.20% | B |
| MDW to CMH · Columbusthin sample | 89 | 86.4% | 22 min | 1.12% | A |
Delay causes
What held MDW up in April
Carriers report a reason for every delay minute they cause, in five DOT categories. The split below is by minutes, not by number of flights, so a handful of very long weather delays weighs as much as many short ones. It covers 71,000 reported delay minutes.
- 41%Late-arriving aircraft
- 31%Carrier
- 23%National Airspace System
- 4%Extreme weather
- 0%Security
41% of delay minutes trace back to a late-arriving aircraft, meaning the plane was already behind before it got here. That is a cascade, and cascades start small and grow through the day. Across 71,000 reported delay minutes here, that single category outweighs weather by 10 to one. It is the strongest argument for booking the first departure of the morning, when the aircraft has been sitting at the gate overnight with nothing to inherit. The split is drawn from 71,240 reported delay minutes.
Cancellations sit at 1.18% against a national 0.90%, which is ordinary. Diversions add another 0.11%.
5.2% of arrivals land an hour or more late, close to the national 6.4%. That is the figure that decides a connection, and it says a 60 to 75 minute layover is reasonable here while anything under 45 minutes is a bet. Most delays on this route last roughly 50 minutes, which a normal layover absorbs.
What to do with this
Flying from MDW in April
For a April trip through MDW: expect 77.6% on time and 1.18% cancelled, going by April 2026. The 5am–8am window was the strongest part of the day.
Related
Where to go next
- Chicago Midway International (MDW), the whole year
- MDW in July67.2%
- MDW in August77.8%
- MDW in September84.1%
- MDW in October80.2%
- MDW in November80.6%
- MDW in December69.7%
- MDW in January80.9%
- MDW in February81.6%
- MDW in March68.7%
- MDW in May74.0%
- MDW in June64.2%
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, on-time performance data, July 2025 to June 2026. Last updated 15 September 2026; recomputed monthly. How this data is collected.