Nashville (BNA) to Chicago (MDW)
Flight time
≈ 1h 35m
Bearing
352° N
Nashville (BNA) to Chicago (MDW) is 395 miles (636 km) as the crow flies — the great-circle baseline most distance-based mileage programs credit.
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What actually flies BNA–MDW
US DOT T-100 · filed dataIn April 2026, Southwest Airlines operated the most departures, one of 2 carriers flying nonstop BNA–MDW; the Boeing 737 MAX 8 was the most common aircraft at 38% of departures; flights ran 67% full.
Departures
330
April 2026
Seats
53,197
both directions
Passengers
35,879
both directions
Load factor
67.5%
passengers ÷ seats
Who flies BNA–MDW?
Southwest Airlines operated the most nonstop BNA–MDW departures in April 2026 (329), one of 2 carriers on the route.
- WN
Southwest Airlines
329 departures · 53,129 seats
Share of departures99.7%67.4%
Load
- 1EQ
KaiserAir
1 departures · 68 seats
Share of departures0.3%76.5%
Load
What plane flies BNA–MDW?
In April 2026, the Boeing 737 MAX 8 flew 38% of BNA–MDW departures — more than any other aircraft type.
- Boeing 737 MAX 8
125 departures · 67.2% load
37.9% - Boeing 737-700
118 departures · 70.5% load
35.8% - Boeing 737-800
87 departures · 64.5% load
26.4%
How has BNA–MDW traffic changed?
Nonstop BNA–MDW departures fell from 341 in May 2025 to 330 in April 2026.
Monthly nonstop BNA–MDW traffic, trailing 12 months through April 2026. Bars scale to the busiest month; months with no filed service show as zero.
May 2025
341 departures · 40,773 passengers
75.5%
Load
June 2025
342 departures · 41,578 passengers
73.7%
Load
July 2025
346 departures · 43,483 passengers
75.4%
Load
August 2025
333 departures · 43,112 passengers
77.2%
Load
September 2025
320 departures · 41,159 passengers
76.5%
Load
October 2025
342 departures · 42,766 passengers
75.3%
Load
November 2025
314 departures · 34,397 passengers
69.3%
Load
December 2025
303 departures · 32,657 passengers
67.4%
Load
January 2026
253 departures · 21,778 passengers
52.5%
Load
February 2026
246 departures · 22,834 passengers
58.0%
Load
March 2026
337 departures · 36,955 passengers
68.8%
Load
April 2026
330 departures · 35,879 passengers
67.5%
Load
By direction
The DOT files each direction separately — they rarely match.
BNA → MDW
72.2% full
167 departures · 19,122 passengers
MDW → BNA
62.8% full
163 departures · 16,757 passengers
Nonstop BNA–MDW traffic has been filed with the US DOT since 2025.
Source: US DOT BTS Form 41 T-100 Segment (All Carriers). Data through April 2026; filings from 2025. Public domain (US Government work). The DOT publishes roughly three months in arrears.
The airports
Frequently asked
How far is Nashville (BNA) from Chicago (MDW)?
BNA to MDW is 395 miles (636 km / 344 nautical miles) measured great-circle — the shortest path over the surface of the Earth.
How long is the flight from BNA to MDW?
A nonstop covers the 395-mile great-circle distance in roughly 1h 35m of block time, before winds. Actual schedules vary a few percent by direction and aircraft.
What plane flies BNA–MDW?
In April 2026, the Boeing 737 MAX 8 flew the largest share of departures (37.9%), followed by the Boeing 737-700 (35.8%).
What mileage do I earn flying BNA–MDW?
Distance-based programs credit off the 395-mile great-circle figure, then apply your fare-class earning rate. Revenue-based programs credit off the fare instead.
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