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Route

Washington → Chicago

DCAWashingtonRonald Reagan Washington National Airport
MDWChicagoChicago Midway International Airport
Distance
599 mi
Estimated flight time
~1h 40m

Chicago is currently 1 hour behind Washington.

Observed nonstop

View the reverse route

How often does this route fly?

Frequency

Several times a day

On average around 5 flights a day, observed from October 2025 to September 2026.

5
flights per day
6
busiest month · Oct
5
quietest month · Nov
1 hr 34 min
measured flight time
12 / 12
months seen

Through the year

Per day, month by month

  1. 6Jan2026
  2. 5Feb
  3. 5Mar
  4. 5Apr
  5. 6May
  6. 5Jun
  7. 5Jul
  8. 5Aug
  9. 6Sep
  10. 6Oct2025
  11. 5Nov
  12. 5Dec

Airlines

Who flies it

Southwest Airlinesall year

Through the day

Departure times

Local time in Washington. Most departures between 09:00 and 12:00.

  1. 00:00
  2. 01:00
  3. 02:00
  4. 03:00
  5. 04:00
  6. 05:00
  7. 06:00
  8. 07:00
  9. 08:00
  10. 09:00
  11. 10:00
  12. 11:00
  13. 12:00
  14. 13:00
  15. 14:00
  16. 15:00
  17. 16:00
  18. 17:00
  19. 18:00
  20. 19:00
  21. 20:00
  22. 21:00
  23. 22:00
  24. 23:00

Through the week

By weekday

  1. 5.3Mon
  2. 5.3Tue
  3. 5.4Wed
  4. 5.4Thu
  5. 5.4Fri
  6. 5.3Sat
  7. 4.4Sun

Fleet

Aircraft observed

  1. Boeing 737-700B73739%
  2. Boeing 737 MAX 8B38M39%
  3. Boeing 737-800B73822%
All the numbers in a table
MonthPer daySeenAirlines
January 20266153
  • Southwest Airlines153×
February 20265149
  • Southwest Airlines148×
March 20265156
  • Southwest Airlines155×
April 20265158
  • Southwest Airlines157×
May 20266156
  • Southwest Airlines156×
June 20265160
  • Southwest Airlines158×
July 20265157
  • Southwest Airlines157×
August 20265159
  • Southwest Airlines158×
September 20266168
  • Southwest Airlines167×
October 20256174
  • Southwest Airlines174×
November 20255146
  • Southwest Airlines146×
December 20255151
  • Southwest Airlines150×

Airlines observed on this route

From observed callsign routes on DCA-MDW - not a booking guarantee.

Southwest Airlines

WN · SWA

Hub: DEN Denver

117 departure airportsView airline →

About this route

  • Domestic route: both airports are in the same country.
  • The opposite direction has also been observed as a direct connection.
  • Direct destinations observed from Washington: 111.
  • Direct destinations observed from Chicago: 108.

The airports on this route

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport

Washington, United StatesDCA / KDCA

Major airport · 111 direct destinations · 3 runways · longest runway 7,169 ft

72 °F · CloudySource: METAR observation via the NOAA Aviation Weather Center

Airport pageAll direct destinations

Chicago Midway International Airport

Chicago, United StatesMDW / KMDW

Major airport · 108 direct destinations · 4 runways · longest runway 6,522 ft

52 °F · CloudySource: METAR observation via the NOAA Aviation Weather Center

Airport pageAll direct destinations

Alternative airports for this journey

Same journey, a different airport nearby - with an observed direct connection.

DCA ORDChicago O'Hare International AirportChicago is about 16 mi from Chicago.View route →IAD MDWWashington Dulles International AirportDulles is about 24 mi from Washington.View route →BWI MDWBaltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall AirportBaltimore is about 30 mi from Washington.View route →DCA SBNSouth Bend International AirportSouth Bend is about 74 mi from Chicago.View route →

About the route from Washington to Chicago

The observed direct connection between Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) and Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) covers approximately 599 mi. The estimated flight time is around 1h 40m. Southwest Airlines has been observed on this connection in the available route data.

Frequently asked questions about this route

How far is Washington from Chicago by air?
The great-circle distance between Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Chicago Midway International Airport is approximately 599 mi.
How long is the flight from Washington to Chicago?
Based on the distance, the estimated flight time is about 1h 40m. This is an estimate, not a schedule.
Is there a direct connection from Washington to Chicago?
Yes, a direct connection between DCA and MDW has been observed in our route data.
Which airlines have been observed on this route?
In the available route data: Southwest Airlines.
How often is there a flight from Washington to Chicago?
On average around 5 flights a day, measured over twelve months (October 2025 to September 2026) in the flight archive, with 1,887 observed flights. Mainly Southwest Airlines. That is an observation, not a timetable.
What is the current time difference between Washington and Chicago?
Chicago is currently 1 hour behind Washington.

Where this data comes from

The route data comes from the flight archive (ADS-B, adsb.lol): which connections actually flew over the last twelve full months and who flew them, combined with our own airport, runway, and airline datasets. It is reference data about observed routes - not a current timetable and no claim about bookability.

The frequency and aircraft on this page come from the flight archive (ADS-B, 12 months, October 2025 to September 2026), summarized per route per month. We do not see every flight, so it is a floor, not a count.

Route data updated on October 11, 2026.