Nonstop flight route between Raleigh / Durham, North Carolina, United States and Chicago, Illinois, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from RDU to MDW:
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- About this route
- RDU Airport Information
- MDW Airport Information
- Facts about RDU
- Facts about MDW
- Map of Nearest Airports to RDU
- List of Nearest Airports to RDU
- Map of Furthest Airports from RDU
- List of Furthest Airports from RDU
- Map of Nearest Airports to MDW
- List of Nearest Airports to MDW
- Map of Furthest Airports from MDW
- List of Furthest Airports from MDW
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Raleigh–Durham International Airport (RDU), Raleigh / Durham, North Carolina, United States and Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW), Chicago, Illinois, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 631 miles (or 1,016 kilometers).
A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the relatively short distance between Raleigh–Durham International Airport and Chicago Midway International Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | RDU / KRDU |
Airport Name: | Raleigh–Durham International Airport |
Location: | Raleigh / Durham, North Carolina, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 35°52'40"N by 78°47'14"W |
Area Served: | The Research Triangle Metropolitan Region of North Carolina |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 435 feet (133 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from RDU |
More Information: | RDU Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | MDW / KMDW |
Airport Name: | Chicago Midway International Airport |
Location: | Chicago, Illinois, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 41°47'9"N by 87°45'8"W |
Area Served: | Chicago, Illinois, US |
Operator/Owner: | City of Chicago |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 620 feet (189 meters) |
# of Runways: | 5 |
View all routes: | Routes from MDW |
More Information: | MDW Maps & Info |
Facts about Raleigh–Durham International Airport (RDU):
- Raleigh–Durham International Airport (RDU) has 3 runways.
- The new Raleigh–Durham Airport opened on May 1, 1943 with flights by Eastern Airlines.
- After years of proposals, the 1981 part of Terminal 1 was closed in 2012 for a complete reconstruction.
- American Airlines built a terminal at RDU between 1985 and 1987 to house a new hub operation, and offered service to 38 cities at the hub's outset in June 1987.
- The closest airport to Raleigh–Durham International Airport (RDU) is Triangle North Executive Airport (Franklin County Airport) (LFN), which is located 27 miles (44 kilometers) ENE of RDU.
- In February 2011 Continental Airlines commenced its first international flight from RDU, to Cancún.
- In 2010 RDU's traffic began to recover.
- Because of Raleigh–Durham International Airport's relatively low elevation of 435 feet, planes can take off or land at Raleigh–Durham International Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
- The furthest airport from Raleigh–Durham International Airport (RDU) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,639 miles (18,731 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
Facts about Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW):
- For over 16 years, Midway had been the main hub for Indianapolis-based ATA, but the airline shut down on June 7, 2008.
- The closest airport to Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) is Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD), which is located only 15 miles (25 kilometers) NNW of MDW.
- Because of Chicago Midway International Airport's relatively low elevation of 620 feet, planes can take off or land at Chicago Midway International Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
- By 1967 reconstruction began at the airport, adding three new concourses with 28 gates and three ticket counters, and in 1968 the city invested $10 million in renovation funds.
- The furthest airport from Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,083 miles (17,836 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Chicago Midway ranked highest in customer satisfaction among medium-sized airports in J.
- Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) has 5 runways.
- In September 2013, Mayor Rahm Emanuel terminated negotiations to privatize the airport, noting that the process was no longer competitive after one of the two finalists had backed out.
- Today, Southwest Airlines is the largest airline serving Midway with 253 daily flights.
- More construction was funded in part by $1 million from the Works Progress Administration.
- Midway has 43 aircraft gates on three concourses