Nonstop flight route between San Francisco, California, United States and Chicago, Illinois, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from SFO to MDW:
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- About this route
- SFO Airport Information
- MDW Airport Information
- Facts about SFO
- Facts about MDW
- Map of Nearest Airports to SFO
- List of Nearest Airports to SFO
- Map of Furthest Airports from SFO
- List of Furthest Airports from SFO
- 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 San Francisco International Airport (SFO), San Francisco, California, United States and Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW), Chicago, Illinois, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,850 miles (or 2,977 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 San Francisco 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: | SFO / KSFO |
Airport Name: | San Francisco International Airport |
Location: | San Francisco, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 37°37'8"N by 122°22'30"W |
Area Served: | San Francisco |
Operator/Owner: | City & County of San Francisco |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 13 feet (4 meters) |
# of Runways: | 4 |
View all routes: | Routes from SFO |
More Information: | SFO 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 San Francisco International Airport (SFO):
- San Francisco International Airport is an international airport located 13 miles south of downtown San Francisco, California, near Millbrae and San Bruno in unincorporated San Mateo County.
- San Francisco International Airport (SFO) has 4 runways.
- Because of San Francisco International Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at San Francisco 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.
- Before the 1930s, airports used a two-byte abbreviation.
- San Francisco International Airport handled 44,477,209 passengers last year.
- Since the mid-2000s recovery at SFO has been evident.
- The airport closed following the Loma Prieta earthquake on October 17, 1989, reopening the following morning.
- All SkyTeam, Oneworld and non-aligned international carriers operate from Boarding Area A.
- The furthest airport from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,365 miles (18,290 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- The closest airport to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is Half Moon Bay AirportHalf Moon Bay Flight Strip (HAF), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) SW of SFO.
Facts about Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW):
- Simultaneous to Midway's expansion, ATA Airlines began rapid expansion at Midway in the early 2000s, and was the airport's dominant carrier prior to 2004, using 14 of the 17 gates in Concourse A.
- 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.
- In 1979 Midway Airlines began operations, the first to do so after the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978.
- In July 1949 the airport was renamed after the Battle of Midway.
- Midway has 43 aircraft gates on three concourses
- Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) has 5 runways.
- On April 20, 2009, a $2.5 billion deal to privatize the airport via a 99-year lease fell through when the consortium could not put together financing.
- 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.
- 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.