Kansas City (MCI) to Chicago (MDW)
Flight time
≈ 1h 36m
Bearing
63° NE
Kansas City (MCI) to Chicago (MDW) is 404 miles (650 km) as the crow flies — the great-circle baseline most distance-based mileage programs credit.
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What actually flies MCI–MDW
US DOT T-100 · filed dataIn April 2026, Southwest Airlines was the only carrier flying nonstop MCI–MDW; the Boeing 737-700 was the most common aircraft at 38% of departures; flights ran 71% full.
Departures
340
April 2026
Seats
54,636
both directions
Passengers
38,593
both directions
Load factor
70.6%
passengers ÷ seats
Who flies MCI–MDW?
Southwest Airlines was the only carrier to fly nonstop MCI–MDW in April 2026 (340 departures).
- WN
Southwest Airlines
340 departures · 54,636 seats
Share of departures100.0%70.6%
Load
What plane flies MCI–MDW?
In April 2026, the Boeing 737-700 flew 38% of MCI–MDW departures — more than any other aircraft type.
- Boeing 737-700
128 departures · 79.2% load
37.6% - Boeing 737 MAX 8
123 departures · 65.6% load
36.2% - Boeing 737-800
89 departures · 68.0% load
26.2%
How has MCI–MDW traffic changed?
Nonstop MCI–MDW departures fell from 371 in May 2025 to 340 in April 2026.
Monthly nonstop MCI–MDW traffic, trailing 12 months through April 2026. Bars scale to the busiest month; months with no filed service show as zero.
May 2025
371 departures · 44,470 passengers
73.0%
Load
June 2025
388 departures · 48,642 passengers
76.6%
Load
July 2025
399 departures · 49,408 passengers
75.4%
Load
August 2025
382 departures · 48,462 passengers
78.4%
Load
September 2025
355 departures · 45,316 passengers
78.7%
Load
October 2025
396 departures · 48,702 passengers
77.6%
Load
November 2025
301 departures · 33,156 passengers
68.9%
Load
December 2025
330 departures · 35,393 passengers
67.7%
Load
January 2026
303 departures · 25,295 passengers
55.7%
Load
February 2026
270 departures · 25,865 passengers
65.4%
Load
March 2026
350 departures · 38,565 passengers
69.2%
Load
April 2026
340 departures · 38,593 passengers
70.6%
Load
By direction
The DOT files each direction separately — they rarely match.
MCI → MDW
72.6% full
171 departures · 19,636 passengers
MDW → MCI
68.7% full
169 departures · 18,957 passengers
Nonstop MCI–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 Kansas City (MCI) from Chicago (MDW)?
MCI to MDW is 404 miles (650 km / 351 nautical miles) measured great-circle — the shortest path over the surface of the Earth.
How long is the flight from MCI to MDW?
A nonstop covers the 404-mile great-circle distance in roughly 1h 36m of block time, before winds. Actual schedules vary a few percent by direction and aircraft.
What plane flies MCI–MDW?
In April 2026, the Boeing 737-700 flew the largest share of departures (37.6%), followed by the Boeing 737 MAX 8 (36.2%).
What mileage do I earn flying MCI–MDW?
Distance-based programs credit off the 404-mile great-circle figure, then apply your fare-class earning rate. Revenue-based programs credit off the fare instead.
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