DSM to MDW flight delays
Des Moines, IA (DSM) Chicago, IL (MDW) · 306 miles
228 flights · January 2025 – August 2026 · US Bureau of Transportation Statistics
82.43%
Arrived on time
Within 15 minutes of schedule
1.75%
Cancelled
Share of scheduled flights
81 min
When late, late by
Average across delayed arrivals
15 min
Delay per flight
Averaged over every flight flown
What the record says about this route
The shape of the lateness matters here. Flights on this route are not late often, but when they are late they are late by about 81 minutes — long enough to lose a connection or an evening. The on-time percentage looks reassuring and understates the consequence of being on the wrong flight.
The two directions do not behave alike. MDW to DSM arrives on time 11.5 points less often than the outbound. Delay accumulates through the flying day, so whichever direction is scheduled later tends to carry the worse record — which is an argument for booking the morning departure if the choice exists.
Only Southwest Airlines flies this route in the published record, so there is no choice to weigh — the route's figures and the airline's are the same figures.
This is a thin route — 228 flights across the whole period. On a route this infrequent a cancellation is far more costly than the rate suggests, because the next departure may not be the same day.
Which airline should you fly on this route?
Over January 2025 – August 2026, Southwest Airlines arrived on time most often on DSM to MDW. Flights ran closest to schedule in April and worst in May.
Every airline on DSM to MDW
Ranked by how many flights each one operated. A carrier with fewer than 100 flights in the period is listed but not graded.
| Airline | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Avg delay | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines | 228 | 82.43% | 1.75% | 81 min | C |
Month by month
Share of flights that arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, by month flown.
The return leg
MDW to DSM Chicago back to Des Moines 70.98% on time DOther routes from Des Moines
Common questions
Are flights from Des Moines to Chicago usually delayed?
82.43% of flights on the DSM to MDW route arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, so roughly 2 in every ten arrived late. That is better than the average route in this record.
Which airlines fly from Des Moines to Chicago?
Only Southwest Airlines appears in the published record on this route, with 228 flights and 82.43% arriving on time.
How often are DSM to MDW flights cancelled?
1.75% of scheduled flights did not operate — about 18 in every thousand. That is in the normal range.
When DSM to MDW flights are late, how late are they?
About 81 minutes on average across the flights that arrived more than 15 minutes behind schedule.
What these figures do and do not tell you
Everything on this page is counted from the flights that actually operated on DSM to MDW during January 2025 – August 2026, as reported by the airlines to the US Bureau of Transportation Statistics. "On time" is the federal definition: arriving at the gate within 15 minutes of the scheduled time.
A route's record is a description of the past, not a forecast. Weather, air traffic control and the aircraft's earlier flights that day drive most delays, and none of them are predictable from a historical rate. What the record does tell you is whether this route runs late more often than others, and which carrier on it has the better history — which is the part you can actually act on when you book.
Cancellations are counted separately from delays because they are a different problem for a traveller: a late flight still gets you there. How the grade is calculated →