MDW to DTW flight delays
Chicago, IL (MDW) Detroit, MI (DTW) · 228 miles
86 flights · March 2025 – August 2026 · US Bureau of Transportation Statistics
57.65%
Arrived on time
Within 15 minutes of schedule
1.16%
Cancelled
Share of scheduled flights
42 min
When late, late by
Average across delayed arrivals
19 min
Delay per flight
Averaged over every flight flown
What the record says about this route
This is a late route. Flights from Chicago to Detroit miss their scheduled arrival often enough that a tight connection at the far end is a connection at risk.
Every airline on MDW to DTW
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 | 86 | 57.65% | 1.16% | 42 min | — |
The return leg
DTW to MDW Detroit back to Chicago 55.29% on time —Other routes from Chicago
Common questions
Are flights from Chicago to Detroit usually delayed?
57.65% of flights on the MDW to DTW route arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, so roughly 4 in every ten arrived late. That is worse than the average route in this record.
How often are MDW to DTW flights cancelled?
1.16% of scheduled flights did not operate — about 12 in every thousand. That is in the normal range.
When MDW to DTW flights are late, how late are they?
About 42 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 MDW to DTW during March 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 →