Direct Flights from Chicago to Columbus
Columbus · Ohio
Nonstop service from ORD and MDW to CMH on American, Southwest, United. Here's the schedule at a glance — plus what to do once you land.
Which airports fly this route
Chicago has 2 airports with nonstop service to Columbus. Fares differ by airport — each row opens that exact search on Kayak.
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- Find flights ↗ORDCMHChicago O'Hare International
- Find flights ↗MDWCMHChicago Midway International
How rare is this nonstop?
45 cities have a nonstop to Columbus, Chicago among them.
How long to go to Columbus for, from Chicago
1h 5m in the air, 295 miles: short enough that a single night in Columbus is worth it, and a day trip is not absurd.
With roughly 16 departures a day, you are not tied to one flight: if a meeting overruns or the weather turns, there is another one behind it.
About Columbus
Columbus is the capital of the American state of Ohio and is located centrally within the state as the core of the Greater Columbus area. Sited in an area where the Rust Belt, Bible Belt, Appalachia, and the Farm Belt meet, Columbus is a fusion of many different parts of America. It is the home of the Ohio State University. The combination of Ohio Government and the Ohio State University has fueled amazing growth both financially and physically in Columbus. It has created a business and research environment that has provided substantial employment opportunities to the diverse ethnic and local graduates of the Ohio State University, and other academic institutions in Columbus. The Ohio Supercomputer Center (OSC), is projected to be one of the top 50 supercomputers in the world and among the top 10 supercomputing academic centers. It also ranked number 1 on About.com's list of the United States' Most Underrated Gay Cities.
Summary from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA).
Top things to do in Columbus
- The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is a non-profit zoo located near Powell in Liberty Township, Delaware County, Ohio, United States, north of the city of Columbus.
- The Columbus Museum of Art (CMA) is an art museum in downtown Columbus, Ohio. Formed in 1878 as the Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts, it was the first art museum to register its charter with the state of Ohio.
- The Wexner Center for the Arts is the Ohio State University's "multidisciplinary, international laboratory for the exploration and advancement of contemporary art."
- St. Joseph Cathedral is a Catholic cathedral located in Columbus, Ohio in the United States that serves as the seat of the Diocese of Columbus.
- Chadwick Arboretum is a 62 acres (25 ha) arboretum on the Agriculture campus of Ohio State University, in Columbus, Ohio, United States.
- Indianola Park was a trolley park that operated in Columbus, Ohio's University District from 1905 to 1937.
- Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens is a botanical garden and conservatory located in Columbus, Ohio. It is open daily and an admission fee is charged.
- The Inniswood Metro Gardens, is a botanical garden and nature preserve located at 940 South Hempstead Road in Westerville, Ohio. It is open daily from 7 am until 7pm without an admission fee.
- The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum is a research library of American cartoons and comic art affiliated with the Ohio State University library system in Columbus, Ohio.
- Olentangy Park was a trolley park, a type of amusement park, in Clintonville, Columbus, Ohio, operating from 1880 to 1937.
- Delaware State Park is a 1,686-acre (682 ha) public recreation area on U.S. Route 23 near the city of Delaware in Delaware County, Ohio, in the United States.
- McFerson Commons, originally Arena Park, is a 2.2-acre (0.9 ha) park in Columbus, Ohio's Arena District neighborhood.
Attraction descriptions from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA); place data from Wikidata (CC0).
Columbus weather, compared with Chicago
Within 2° of Chicago on the annual average, so pack much as you would at home — but the two cities do not track each other month to month:
- January
- Columbus 37°F · Chicago 31°F · 5° warmer
- April
- Columbus 62°F · Chicago 59°F · 4° warmer
- July
- Columbus 84°F · Chicago 84°F · much the same
- October
- Columbus 64°F · Chicago 62°F · much the same
January bottoms out near 37°F — a real coat, not a layer.
Average daily highs, 1991–2020 station normals from Meteostat (CC BY 4.0), measured at the nearest weather station to each city.
Planning a trip to Columbus
- Best time to visit
- The best time to visit Columbus is April–June and September–October, when daytime highs are a comfortable 62–81°F.
- How long to stay
- Columbus rewards a longer visit — a full week lets you explore its many sights, from Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, Columbus Museum of Art, and Wexner Center for the Arts and beyond.
Frequently asked questions
- Is there a direct flight from Chicago to Columbus?
- Yes — you can fly nonstop from Chicago (ORD, MDW) to Columbus (CMH) on American, Southwest, United.
- Which airlines fly nonstop from Chicago to Columbus?
- American, Southwest, United fly nonstop between Chicago (ORD, MDW) and Columbus (CMH).
- Which Chicago airport has nonstop flights to Columbus?
- You can leave from 2 Chicago airports: ORD (Chicago O'Hare International) on American, United; MDW (Chicago Midway International) on Southwest.
- How many nonstop flights are there from Chicago to Columbus?
- There are about 16 nonstop departures per day (roughly 112 per week) from Chicago to Columbus.
- How far is Columbus from Chicago?
- Columbus is about 295 miles from Chicago by air.
- What is there to do in Columbus?
- Popular things to do include Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, Columbus Museum of Art, Wexner Center for the Arts, St. Joseph Cathedral (Columbus, Ohio), and more.
More nonstop destinations from Chicago near Columbus
Airports near Chicago
The closest other departure airports to Chicago — each opens up more nonstop destinations.