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Route

Chicago → Washington

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

Washington is currently 1 hour ahead of Chicago.

Observed nonstop

View the reverse route

How often does this route fly?

Frequency

Several times a day

On average around 5.5 flights a day, observed from October 2025 to September 2026.

5.5
flights per day
6
busiest month · Oct
5
quietest month · Nov
1 hr 21 min
measured flight time
12 / 12
months seen

Through the year

Per day, month by month

  1. 5.5Jan2026
  2. 5.5Feb
  3. 5.5Mar
  4. 6Apr
  5. 5May
  6. 6Jun
  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 Chicago. Most departures between 11:00 and 14:00.

  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. 5.4Mon
  2. 5.3Tue
  3. 5.4Wed
  4. 5.2Thu
  5. 5.5Fri
  6. 5.1Sat
  7. 4.7Sun

Fleet

Aircraft observed

  1. Boeing 737-700B73746%
  2. Boeing 737 MAX 8B38M33%
  3. Boeing 737-800B73821%
  4. BE350%
  5. GA5C0%
All the numbers in a table
MonthPer daySeenAirlines
January 20265.5156
  • Southwest Airlines156×
February 20265.5150
  • Southwest Airlines150×
March 20265.5162
  • Southwest Airlines161×
April 20266160
  • Southwest Airlines159×
May 20265153
  • Southwest Airlines152×
June 20266160
  • Southwest Airlines159×
July 20265159
  • Southwest Airlines158×
August 20265150
  • Southwest Airlines149×
September 20266171
  • Southwest Airlines169×
October 20256171
  • Southwest Airlines168×
November 20255154
  • Southwest Airlines154×
December 20255146
  • Southwest Airlines146×

Airlines observed on this route

From observed callsign routes on MDW-DCA - 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 Chicago: 108.
  • Direct destinations observed from Washington: 111.

The airports on this route

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

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport

Washington, United StatesDCA / KDCA

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

70 °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.

ORD DCAChicago O'Hare International AirportChicago is about 16 mi from Chicago.View route →MDW IADWashington Dulles International AirportDulles is about 24 mi from Washington.View route →MDW BWIBaltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall AirportBaltimore is about 30 mi from Washington.View route →SBN DCASouth Bend International AirportSouth Bend is about 74 mi from Chicago.View route →

About the route from Chicago to Washington

The observed direct connection between Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) 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 Chicago from Washington by air?
The great-circle distance between Chicago Midway International Airport and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is approximately 599 mi.
How long is the flight from Chicago to Washington?
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 Chicago to Washington?
Yes, a direct connection between MDW and DCA 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 Chicago to Washington?
On average around 5.5 flights a day, measured over twelve months (October 2025 to September 2026) in the flight archive, with 1,892 observed flights. Mainly Southwest Airlines. That is an observation, not a timetable.
What is the current time difference between Chicago and Washington?
Washington is currently 1 hour ahead of Chicago.

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.