Southwest AirlinesWN78% on time
Flights WN4820 varies daily
live
Direct flights from Richmond (RIC) to Chicago (MDW): 7 nonstop departures observed each week across 1 airline. 64% of the last 11 operated flights arrived within 15 minutes of schedule. The median arrival is 5 minutes late. No cancellations were recorded across the 11 tracked flights. The nonstop covers 1,011 km, an estimated 1 hour 48 minutes in the air. Measured by Pro Flight Search from live flight boards at Richmond and Chicago. Updated 17 September 2026 at 20:45 UTC.
RIC
Richmond
busy · +15
MDW
Chicago
heavy · +38
1,011 km · ~1h 48m est.
Runs mixed · 1 airline · 7x weekly · nonstop
64% on time
of the last 11 operated RIC → MDW flights arrived within 15 minutes
Median arrival delay is +5 min. 0 of 11 tracked legs cancelled in the sample. Will a delayed flight be cancelled? →
Median arrival+5 minacross the last 11 operated legs
Flight time~1h 48mestimated from route distance
Weekly departures7x1 direct airline on the leg
Cancelled0.0%recent route rate · 0 of 11
Who flies it
observed on the boards · 7 daysHistory
operated legs · board outcomes09-16LXJ488dep +62 → arr+50
09-15LXJ395arrived+32
Actual board outcomes rather than schedules, paired departure and arrival per flight and day.
Full board history, day by day →
Airports right now
live boardsWeather lens
Current conditions put the pressure at RIC and MDW: 45% odds of a 15+ minute delay and around +11 min expected when it bites, measured from this route's own weather-matched delay history. See live delays → · Weather risk by airport →
next sweep in 120s
How the Richmond to Chicago route actually runs
Pro Flight Search records official board updates for nonstop RIC to MDW flights through the day: schedules, estimates, gate pushes and actual departures. The verdict above comes from operated flights, so it reflects what this route does rather than what the timetable promises.
Planning around a delay? Live airport delays · Weather delay risk map · Will a delayed flight be cancelled? · Do planes make up time in the air? · How we measure
Cite this data
Journalists, bloggers, and researchers may cite this page with attribution and a link to Pro Flight Search.
Suggested citation
Pro Flight Search — Richmond (RIC) to Chicago (MDW) route reliability, measured from operated flights on official airport boards.
Canonical URL
How we measure this →
https://proflightsearch.com/search-flights/RIC-MDW
RIC to MDW questions
Is RIC–MDW running on time right now?
Some delays possible. The arrival side at MDW is the weaker end, route health score 65/100. The airports section above carries the live status and delay window at both ends.
How long is the flight from RIC to MDW?
Great-circle distance is 1,011 km. With typical jet cruise speed plus taxi, climb and descent, expect roughly 101–117 min gate-to-gate on this route.
How often does RIC–MDW fly?
Southwest Airlines runs the route with about 7 flights a week (daily). Since one carrier owns the route, a single disruption tends to ripple through the day.
What does the route health score measure?
A blend of departure-side delay at RIC and arrival-side delay at MDW, computed from rolling delay windows (refreshed every 40 minutes) with a daily-rollup fallback. Current MVFR, IFR, or LIFR endpoint weather caps the score when flight rules can limit throughput. Higher is healthier: 100 means operations are clean at both ends.
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