O'Hare (ORD) Flight Delays: Rate, Worst Hours and Live Risk
O'Hare (ORD) is ranked 7 of 22 for delays among DelayGuard's guide airports (1 is the highest rate): 24.3% of flights departing ORD arrived 15 or more minutes late across 850,994 flights, January 2023 to December 2025. United Airlines operated 31.3% of those departures, with a 22.4% delay rate of its own. The worst scheduled departure hours are 10 PM (39.1%) and 8 PM (34.1%); 5 AM is the best at 11.8%. 1.56% of scheduled ORD departures were cancelled in 2024 to 2025.
These figures are historical US domestic rates, not a forecast for one departure. Use the per-flight delay estimate before you book.
Delay window: January 2023 to December 2025. Cancellation window: 2024 to 2025. Last updated: 2026-10-18. Delayed means a flight arrived 15 or more minutes after its scheduled arrival, the BTS and DOT on-time standard. Cancelled and diverted flights are excluded from delay rates. Historical BTS figures are separate from DelayGuard's per-flight model probability and from live FAA, weather and ground-delay status.
Layover buffer
Chance an inbound arrival is 45+ min late at ORD: 10.83%.
92,039 of 850,027 arrivals, January 2023 to December 2025. Not a missed-connection rate.
Flight delays today at ORD
FAA now: No FAA program
Tomorrow: Typical
October delay rate: 19.2%
FAA now is the current National Airspace System program.
Historical delay rate (15+ min late) at ORD
Sample size: 850,994 flights, window: January 2023 to December 2025. Delay rate 24.3%. Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). Cancellation rate 1.56% of 607,080 scheduled flights, 2024 to 2025.
Why ORD runs the way it does
No single carrier dominates ORD. The largest carriers in this window, by departures, are United Airlines (31.3%), SkyWest Airlines (19.6%) and American Airlines (18.1%), so the airport's record reflects several operations rather than one hub schedule.
ORD delays peak in July (34.3%), June (29.5%) and January (27.1%) and are lowest in October (19.2%). That shape is consistent with the summer thunderstorm season, when convective weather builds through the afternoon and slows arrivals and departures.
Delays build through the day: 12.9% of flights scheduled before 8 AM ran late against 33.1% after 8 PM. That is the pattern BTS describes as late-arriving aircraft, where a previous flight with the same aircraft arriving late makes the next departure late.
Best and worst times to fly from ORD
| Hour | Delayed 15+ min | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| 12 AM | 27.9% | 330 |
| 5 AM | 11.8% | 8,911 |
| 6 AM | 12.3% | 23,466 |
| 7 AM | 13.1% | 63,449 |
| 8 AM | 19.1% | 77,373 |
| 9 AM | 18.7% | 65,327 |
| 10 AM | 19.5% | 63,231 |
| 11 AM | 22.2% | 35,004 |
| 12 PM | 21.4% | 39,688 |
| 1 PM | 22.3% | 60,553 |
| 2 PM | 24.8% | 60,320 |
| 3 PM | 27.3% | 42,994 |
| 4 PM | 29.7% | 40,477 |
| 5 PM | 30.4% | 39,400 |
| 6 PM | 30.8% | 76,193 |
| 7 PM | 32.6% | 57,981 |
| 8 PM | 34.1% | 61,238 |
| 9 PM | 29.8% | 28,247 |
| 10 PM | 39.1% | 6,379 |
| 11 PM | 29.1% | 433 |
ORD delays and cancellations by month
| Month | Delayed 15+ min | Flights | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27.1% | 59,768 | 4.30% |
| Feb | 19.5% | 58,120 | 0.73% |
| Mar | 22.2% | 67,906 | 0.71% |
| Apr | 20.6% | 69,972 | 0.83% |
| May | 24.0% | 73,898 | 1.11% |
| Jun | 29.5% | 74,568 | 1.15% |
| Jul | 34.3% | 75,354 | 2.60% |
| Aug | 26.8% | 77,295 | 1.98% |
| Sep | 20.0% | 75,603 | 0.35% |
| Oct | 19.2% | 78,781 | 0.31% |
| Nov | 20.0% | 69,694 | 3.27% |
| Dec | 27.0% | 70,035 | 1.66% |
Airlines at ORD
| Airline | Share of departures | Delayed 15+ min | Flights | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines | 31.3% | 22.4% | 266,422 | 1.03% |
| SkyWest Airlines | 19.6% | 26.4% | 167,054 | 2.12% |
| American Airlines | 18.1% | 27.5% | 154,130 | 1.52% |
| Envoy Air | 12.4% | 23.0% | 105,738 | 1.69% |
| Republic Airways | 7.0% | 17.2% | 59,690 | 1.77% |
| Delta Air Lines | 3.9% | 21.7% | 33,073 | 1.34% |
| Spirit Airlines (ceased 2 May 2026) | 2.6% | 28.2% | 22,412 | 1.72% |
| Southwest Airlines | 2.4% | 24.7% | 20,775 | 1.30% |
| Alaska Airlines | 1.1% | 28.4% | 9,238 | 1.54% |
| Frontier Airlines | 0.8% | 37.1% | 7,108 | 2.96% |
Regional operators are reported separately from the airline brands they fly for.
Routes from ORD
| Route | Delayed 15+ min | Flights | Cancelled | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD to LGA | 25.3% | 31,490 | 2.33% | Predict |
| ORD to LAX | 23.1% | 20,198 | 1.21% | Route page |
| ORD to BOS | 26.4% | 20,115 | 1.38% | Route page |
| ORD to DEN | 23.2% | 18,799 | 1.23% | Route page |
| ORD to DCA | 25.4% | 18,783 | 2.03% | Predict |
| ORD to DFW | 26.2% | 18,673 | 1.86% | Route page |
| ORD to ATL | 24.5% | 17,749 | 1.50% | Route page |
| ORD to EWR | 28.7% | 17,180 | 2.31% | Route page |
| ORD to PHX | 21.6% | 17,161 | 1.04% | Route page |
| ORD to MSP | 25.5% | 16,895 | 1.11% | Predict |
| ORD to MCO | 24.5% | 15,951 | 1.42% | Route page |
| ORD to DTW | 21.6% | 15,853 | 1.68% | Predict |
| ORD to LAS | 23.8% | 15,805 | 1.08% | Route page |
| ORD to IAH | 22.7% | 15,380 | 1.34% | Predict |
| ORD to SEA | 23.6% | 15,185 | 1.04% | Route page |
Nearby airports
- Midway (MDW): 23.2% delayed
- Summer thunderstorm delays: which airports suffer most
- Thanksgiving and Christmas 2026 flight delay guide
- US airline cancellation rates
If you are booking a tight connection at O'Hare, read how often inbound flights arrived late.
Questions
- How often are flights delayed at ORD?
- 24.3% of flights departing ORD arrived 15 or more minutes late across 850,994 flights, January 2023 to December 2025 (BTS). Across all US domestic flights in the data, the rate is 21.2%.
- What is the best time to fly from ORD?
- Early departures run best. 5 AM flights ran 11.8% late (8,911 flights), 6 AM flights ran 12.3% late (23,466 flights) and 7 AM flights ran 13.1% late (63,449 flights). The worst hours are 10 PM (39.1%), 8 PM (34.1%) and 7 PM (32.6%).
- Which month is worst for delays at ORD?
- July has the highest delay rate at 34.3%. October is the lowest at 19.2%.
- Which airline has the best on-time record at ORD?
- Among carriers still flying with at least 5,000 flights from ORD, Republic Airways has the lowest delay rate at 17.2% (59,690 flights). Frontier Airlines is highest at 37.1%. Regional operators such as SkyWest are reported separately from the airline brands they fly for.
- How often are ORD flights cancelled?
- 1.56% of 607,080 scheduled departures from ORD were cancelled in 2024 to 2025. The US figure over the same period is 1.41%. See the full ranking on the cancellation rates page.
- Does DelayGuard show live delays at ORD?
- Yes. The live module on this page shows DelayGuard's hourly risk score and any active FAA ground stop or ground delay program. It is separate from the historical BTS figures above. For a specific flight, the predictor gives a model probability that combines history, weather and FAA data.
- Why does ORD have delays?
- No single carrier dominates ORD. The largest carriers in this window, by departures, are United Airlines (31.3%), SkyWest Airlines (19.6%) and American Airlines (18.1%), so the airport's record reflects several operations rather than one hub schedule. ORD delays peak in July (34.3%), June (29.5%) and January (27.1%) and are lowest in October (19.2%). That shape is consistent with the summer thunderstorm season, when convective weather builds through the afternoon and slows arrivals and departures.
- Is ORD better than nearby airports?
- Compare ORD with MDW (23.2%) on the Chicago: ORD vs MDW compared page. Those are the delay rates for flights departing each airport over the same window.