According to PlainFlights' airport traffic ranking (BTS On-Time Performance total flights), Chicago, IL (MDW) ranks #28 of 382 tracked US airports by total flights (most flights = #1). Chicago, IL posts bottom-quartile on-time performance among the 382 tracked U.S. airports, as a high-volume U.S. airport.
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MDW on-time rate vs. the national average
Behind the U.S. average across all 382 tracked airports.
Delay Cause Breakdown
Top delay cause: Late Aircraft.
Total delay minutes: 5,187,428.
Late Aircraft41.8% (2,166,745 min)
Carrier38.5% (1,999,064 min)
NAS (National Aviation System)16.2% (839,949 min)
Weather3.3% (172,636 min)
Security0.2% (9,034 min)
MDW - seasonal on-time pattern
Best: February (91%) · worst: July (82%)
MDW - on-time rate by year
2020–2025, year-over-year trend.
MDW - taxi-out and taxi-in (monthly)
Average taxi-out 14.4 min · taxi-in 5.1 min over the last 24 reported months (U.S. airport mean taxi-out ≈ 16.4 min).
MDW's average taxi-out (14.4 min) sits near the recent U.S. airport mean (~16.4 min). Month-to-month, it swings from 12.8 min (October 2024) to 17.6 min (December 2025).
Two PlainFlights-derived comparison paths for Chicago, IL, both outside Illinois so the neighborhoods are not same-state geography. Axes stay disjoint: volume peers exclude the on-time peer set. Same-state compare stays below.
The standout signal at Chicago, IL is traffic scale: 880,912 BTS flights (2020–2025) place it #28 of 382 by book size. That busy-book footprint sits beside a 78.4% on-time rate (0.6 pts below the 79% national flight-weighted average), 190,033 delayed departures, and 12,896 cancellations (1.46% of the book).
Delay minutes concentrate in Late Aircraft (41.8% late-aircraft, 38.5% carrier, 16.2% NAS, 3.3% weather, 0.2% security). As a busy airport, that mix matters more for connection planning than for a thin schedule.
On the multi-year calendar, MDW is strongest in February (91% on-time) and weakest in July (82%), a 9.0-point swing. Volume peaks in July (~14,409 flights/month). The busiest connecting route is to ATL (Atlanta) at 81.1% on-time. Field definitions: on-time performance explained.
Chicago, IL vs. the national on-time distribution
On-time rate among all 382 tracked U.S. airports
78.4%Top 89%higher than 11% of 382 airports
Chicago, IL
60%95%
U.S. airports by on-time rate, bucketed by value
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more airports. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Data Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), On-Time Performance Data (2020–2025).
Statistics reflect cumulative performance across all available reporting periods. On-time rates exclude cancelled and diverted flights.
MDW's on-time book sits in the slower half of the BTS set; check the delay mix and the worst month before treating the headline as typical.
Check the busiest route from MDW before you book a connection. See top routes →
Travel in February rather than July if your dates are flexible. Seasonal patterns →
Gate-to-wheels taxi-out averages 14.4 min here; check the monthly series before a tight connection. Taxi times →
On-time rate reflects the BTS historical average across all reporting carriers at this airport, not any single flight or airline.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Chicago, IL's on-time rate?
Chicago, IL (MDW) has a 78.4% on-time rate across 880,912 BTS-tracked flights (2020-2025), 0.6 pts below the 79% national flight-weighted average; that places it in roughly the bottom-quartile on-time performance.
How does MDW rank among U.S. airports by traffic volume?
Chicago, IL ranks #28 of 382 tracked US airports by total BTS flights (most flights = #1), making it a high-volume U.S. airport.
What's the most common cause of delays at Chicago, IL?
Late Aircraft is the leading delay cause at MDW, accounting for 41.8% of delay minutes. The full breakdown: 41.8% late-aircraft, 38.5% carrier, 16.2% NAS/air-traffic-control, 3.3% weather, and 0.2% security.
When is the best time to fly through Chicago, IL?
February is historically MDW's strongest month at 91% on-time, while July is the weakest at 82%, a 9.0-point swing across the BTS historical record.
Data sourced from U.S. Department of Transportation Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) On-Time Performance data. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainFlights