Transatlantic route record · UK CAA departure punctuality
EDI→ORD
Edinburgh to Chicago
- Flights
- 350 both ways
- Carriers
- 1
- Distance
- 3,702 mi
- Period
- September 2025 to August 2026
Over the twelve months to August 2026, 73.4% of departures from Edinburgh to Chicago O'Hare International left within 15 minutes of their planned time, from 175 flights the UK Civil Aviation Authority matched to a schedule. That is 3 points behind the 76.4% recorded across every UK departure to the United States, and it ranks 33rd of the 50 UK-to-US routes with a usable record. About one flight in four left at least 15 minutes behind schedule, and 5 of 180 scheduled departures, 2.8%, did not operate at all.
The route's 73.4% is essentially unchanged from the same twelve months a year earlier, when 73.0% left on time. Across every departure from the 25 UK airports the CAA reports, to any destination, 72.4% left within 15 minutes in the same period; transatlantic departures run slightly better than the UK average, partly because wide-body long-haul flights are scheduled with more slack than short-haul rotations. A single carrier accounts for almost every departure, so the route figure and the airline figure are the same number.
Key figures
Left on time
73.4%
Within 15 minutes of schedule, of 175 departures (CAA)
Avg delay
25 min
Across all departures, early counted as zero
Cancelled
2.78%
All UK-to-US departures: 2.16%
3+ hours late
3.03%
The UK261 compensation threshold
11.3% of departures left more than an hour late, and 3.03% left three hours or more behind schedule, roughly one flight in 30. Three hours at arrival is the threshold at which UK261 compensation becomes payable, £520 a passenger on a sector of this length; the CAA measures the departure, so a flight in that band left the gate three hours late, which is not quite the same test but rarely ends differently after seven hours over the Atlantic. The average delay across every matched departure, early ones counted as zero, was 25.1 minutes, against 14.2 for all UK-to-US departures.
Carrier by carrier
Which airline leaves EDI for ORD on time
United Airlines is the only carrier the DOT report shows on EDI to ORD, with 350 flights and an average of 158 passengers aboard each. A single-carrier route gives a delayed passenger no same-day alternative on the same ticket, which is worth knowing before booking a tight onward connection.
| Airline | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlinesthin sample | 178 | 73.8% | 24 min | 2.25% | C |
Flights are scheduled departures in the CAA file, operated plus cancelled; on time is within 15 minutes of the planned off-block time. The DOT count below includes the return direction and may differ.
How late is late
How delays on EDI to ORD are distributed
- Early15+ min early2.3%
- On timeup to 15 min late71.1%
- 16–30 min6.1%
- 31–60 min6.7%
- 1–2 hours6.6%
- 2–3 hours1.7%
- 3–6 hourscompensation threshold2.5%
- Over 6 hours0.5%
Scale runs 0% to 100%.
Across the year
When EDI to ORD runs late
The DOT's international report puts 62 flights on the pair in July 2025, the busiest month of the window, and 0 in March 2026, the thinnest. A summer-to-winter swing of that size means the winter schedule is a different operation: fewer frequencies, so a cancellation leaves a longer wait for the next seat.
Flights per month, both directions
- July 202562
- August 202560
- September 202558
- October 202549
- November 20250
- December 20250
- January 20260
- February 20260
- March 20260
- April 20261
- May 202662
- June 202658
The DOT's international report counts flights in both directions together: 350 between EDI and ORD from July 2025 to June 2026, about three departures a week in each direction, carrying 55,290 passengers. That makes it the 7th busiest of 8 US routes from Edinburgh and the 19th busiest of 23 European routes into ORD.
The return leg
ORD to EDI: arrivals back into Edinburgh
Coming the other way, 59.1% of arrivals from Chicago O'Hare International into Edinburgh reached the gate within 15 minutes of schedule, across 176 flights. 16% arrived more than 15 minutes early, which is normal for an eastbound crossing with the jet stream behind it and a schedule padded for the days it is not. 5.06% of those arrivals were three hours or more late, the figure that decides a compensation claim on the return trip, and 1.1% were cancelled.
Arrived on time
59.1%
Within 15 minutes, of 176 arrivals
Early
16.3%
More than 15 minutes ahead of schedule
Cancelled
1.12%
3+ hours late
5.06%
Arrival delay, the compensation test
- Early15+ min early16.3%
- On timeup to 15 min late42.8%
- 16–30 min9.5%
- 31–60 min14.0%
- 1–2 hours9.0%
- 2–3 hours2.2%
- 3–6 hourscompensation threshold4.0%
- Over 6 hours1.1%
Scale runs 0% to 100%.
The departure airport
How Edinburgh is running
EUROCONTROL's figures for Edinburgh as a whole, every airline and every destination: 71.4% of departures and 74.0% of arrivals within 15 minutes of schedule from 1 January to 21 October 2026, with 97.0% of scheduled flights operated. The last seven days ran at 73.0% for departures, 2 points better than the year so far. Air traffic flow management delay attributed to the airport averaged 0.0 minutes per arriving flight this year, 0.0 over the last week.
| Window | Departures on time | Arrivals on time | Schedules operated | ATFM delay / arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yesterday (21 October 2026) | 81.7% | 82.1% | 96.5% | 0.0 min |
| Last 7 days | 73.0% | 77.0% | 96.8% | 0.0 min |
| Year to date | 71.4% | 74.0% | 97.0% | 0.0 min |
Every US route from Edinburgh, and its full punctuality record
The arrival airport
Landing at Chicago O'Hare International
Chicago O'Hare International is scored on this site from the DOT's domestic data: 70.8% of its 363,008 domestic departures arrived on time over the last twelve months, with delayed flights running a little over an hour late, and 2.80% were cancelled. Those are domestic flights, not this route, but an arriving transatlantic flight shares the same runways, the same weather and the same ground delay programmes, so a bad day at ORD reaches a flight from EDI just as surely. The airport's own page has the hour-by-hour and month-by-month detail, and its live FAA status appears above when the FAA has something to say.
Domestic on time
70.8%
Arrivals under 15 minutes late (DOT)
Avg delay
79 min
Delayed domestic flights only
Cancelled
2.80%
Domestic departures
363,008
Last twelve months
Chicago O'Hare International (ORD) delay statistics, hour by hour and month by month
Your rights
UK261 on EDI to ORD
Every flight that departs Edinburgh falls under UK261, the retained version of the EU regulation, whichever airline flies it and wherever it lands. If it arrives at Chicago O'Hare International three hours or more late, or is cancelled with under 14 days' notice, and the cause was within the airline's control, each passenger is owed £520 (£260 if the airline got you there under four hours late), on top of rebooking and care. Weather, air traffic control restrictions and strikes outside the airline are the usual exemptions. The return flight from ORD is covered only when the carrier is UK or EU based. The sector is about 3,702 miles, 5,957 km, which puts it in the top distance band.
Delayed three hours or more? Check a claim with Compensair →
What to do with this
Booking EDI to ORD
Booked blind, EDI to ORD is a C route by the departure record, and there is no carrier choice to make. Leave at least two hours for any onward connection at ORD: 11% of departures were an hour or more late, and immigration comes before the connecting flight.
Common questions
EDI to ORD questions
How often are EDI to ORD flights delayed?
About one flight in four leaves Edinburgh at least 15 minutes behind schedule, 26.6% of the 175 departures the CAA matched between September 2025 and August 2026. 11.3% left more than an hour late and 3.03% three hours or more. A further 2.8% of scheduled departures were cancelled.
Which airlines fly EDI to ORD?
United Airlines. United Airlines accounted for 100% of the 350 flights the DOT counted on the pair.
Can I claim compensation for a delayed EDI to ORD flight?
Yes, if the flight arrived three hours or more late or was cancelled at short notice for a reason within the airline's control: departures from Edinburgh are covered by UK261 whichever airline operates them. The fixed amount for a sector of this length is £520 a passenger, £260 if the airline got you there under four hours late. On this route 3.03% of departures left three hours or more late over the last twelve months. The return from ORD is covered only on a UK or EU carrier.
How punctual is the return leg, ORD to EDI?
59.1% of arrivals from Chicago O'Hare International reached the gate at Edinburgh within 15 minutes of schedule across 176 flights, and 16% arrived more than 15 minutes early, as eastbound crossings often do. 1.1% were cancelled.
Related
Where to go next
- Edinburgh (EDI): every US route
- Chicago O'Hare International (ORD) delay statistics
- EDI to JFK, New York (JFK)1,104 flights
- EDI to EWR, Newark (EWR)886 flights
- EDI to BOS, Boston (BOS)723 flights
- EDI to IAD, Washington (IAD)541 flights
- LHR to ORD, from London5,762 flights
- FRA to ORD, from Frankfurt2,780 flights
- DUB to ORD, from Dublin2,325 flights
- CDG to ORD, from Paris2,073 flights
- Every Europe-to-US route and airport
The departure record is the CAA's, measured at Edinburgh; the arrival record for the return leg is also measured at Edinburgh. Nothing here is measured at ORD, where the DOT keeps no record of international flights.
Sources: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, International Report (flights and passengers by carrier and airport pair), July 2025 to June 2026; UK Civil Aviation Authority punctuality statistics, September 2025 to August 2026; EUROCONTROL Aviation Intelligence Portal, airport punctuality and ATFM delay to 21 October 2026. Rebuilt 22 October 2026; the EUROCONTROL figures refresh with each weekly build, the others when their publisher releases a month. How these sources differ.