Cleveland (CLE) to Chicago (MDW)
Flight time
≈ 1h 25m
Bearing
277° W
Cleveland (CLE) to Chicago (MDW) is 306 miles (492 km) as the crow flies — the great-circle baseline most distance-based mileage programs credit.
Look up a route, or build a trip
Change the airports, or add stops for a multi-leg trip.
What actually flies CLE–MDW
Filed traffic dataIn May 2026, Southwest Airlines operated the most departures, one of 2 carriers flying nonstop CLE–MDW; the Boeing 737-700 was the most common aircraft at 54% of departures; flights ran 70% full.
Departures
175
May 2026
Seats
26,950
both directions
Passengers
18,878
both directions
Load factor
70.0%
RPM ÷ ASM
Who flies CLE–MDW?
Southwest Airlines operated the most nonstop CLE–MDW departures in May 2026 (174), one of 2 carriers on the route.
- WN
174 departures · 26,878 seats
Share of departures99.4%70.2%
Load
- DL
1 departures · 72 seats
Share of departures0.6%0.0%
Load
What plane flies CLE–MDW?
In May 2026, the Boeing 737-700 flew 54% of CLE–MDW departures — more than any other aircraft type.
- Boeing 737-700
94 departures · 72.7% load
53.7% - Boeing 737 MAX 8
57 departures · 65.0% load
32.6% - Boeing 737-800
23 departures · 75.4% load
13.1% - Boeing 757-200
1 departures · 0.0% load
0.6%
How has CLE–MDW traffic changed?
Nonstop CLE–MDW departures fell from 216 in June 2025 to 175 in May 2026.
Monthly nonstop CLE–MDW traffic, trailing 12 months through May 2026. Bars scale to the busiest month; months with no filed service show as zero.
June 2025
216 departures · 25,021 passengers
72.0%
Load
July 2025
230 departures · 26,491 passengers
71.0%
Load
August 2025
218 departures · 27,158 passengers
74.7%
Load
September 2025
216 departures · 25,752 passengers
71.0%
Load
October 2025
191 departures · 20,723 passengers
70.3%
Load
November 2025
163 departures · 15,624 passengers
59.5%
Load
December 2025
179 departures · 17,011 passengers
59.9%
Load
January 2026
143 departures · 10,695 passengers
47.6%
Load
February 2026
142 departures · 12,172 passengers
58.0%
Load
March 2026
165 departures · 17,197 passengers
69.5%
Load
April 2026
174 departures · 17,649 passengers
66.9%
Load
May 2026
175 departures · 18,878 passengers
70.0%
Load
By direction
Each direction is filed separately — they rarely match.
MDW → CLE
72.6% full
88 departures · 9,702 passengers
CLE → MDW
67.5% full
87 departures · 9,176 passengers
Nonstop CLE–MDW traffic has been filed since 2025.
Source: US DOT BTS Form 41 T-100 Segment (All Carriers). Data through May 2026; filings from 2025. Public domain (US Government work).
The airports
Frequently asked
How far is Cleveland (CLE) from Chicago (MDW)?
CLE to MDW is 306 miles (492 km / 266 nautical miles) measured great-circle — the shortest path over the surface of the Earth.
How long is the flight from CLE to MDW?
A nonstop covers the 306-mile great-circle distance in roughly 1h 25m of block time, before winds. Actual schedules vary a few percent by direction and aircraft.
What plane flies CLE–MDW?
In May 2026, the Boeing 737-700 flew the largest share of departures (53.7%), followed by the Boeing 737 MAX 8 (32.6%).
What mileage do I earn flying CLE–MDW?
Distance-based programs credit off the 306-mile great-circle figure, then apply your fare-class earning rate. Revenue-based programs credit off the fare instead.
Keep exploring
Every route below is its own page.
Popular long-haul routes