ORD to SAN: Distance and Flight Time

How far is it from Chicago to San Diego?

The great-circle distance between Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) and San Diego International Airport (SAN) is 2,768 km (1,720 mi, 1,495 nautical miles). That is the straight-line distance; a real flight is a little longer because of air-traffic routing.

How long is the flight from ORD to SAN?

A nonstop flight typically takes about 4h. This is an estimate from the distance; actual block times depend on the aircraft, winds and the exact routing. SAN is roughly west of ORD.

How is the ORD to SAN route written in code?

The pair is written ORD-SAN in IATA codes and KORD-KSAN in ICAO codes, the form used on a flight plan. Chicago O'Hare International Airport is ORD (KORD), San Diego International Airport is SAN (KSAN).

Both ICAO codes start with K, the prefix ICAO assigns to the contiguous United States, so this is a route inside one ICAO region. How ICAO prefixes are laid out.

SAN sits 663 ft (202 m) lower than ORD, which is a real difference in air density on takeoff.

Airlines flying ORD to SAN

3 airlines appear on this route in the open route dataset, 3 of them still listed as active. Each row gives the IATA code, the ICAO code and the radio callsign, which is what an air traffic controller hears:

A further 1 carrier sell this pair as a codeshare without operating it: AS.

Route and carrier data comes from the OpenFlights open dataset, regenerated here on 3 July 2026. It is a historical snapshot of scheduled connections, not a live schedule, and it includes codeshare listings, so some carriers shown may no longer operate the route or exist. How we build this · Data and sources.

Frequently asked questions

Related routes

Other routes from Chicago (ORD):

Other routes from San Diego (SAN):

ORD airport code · SAN airport code · Busiest airports worldwide