OnTimeStats

Airport on-time performance

Washington

Data through May 2026Source: US DOT · BTS
On-time rate70%flights departing here that arrived on time
p90 delay65 min1 in 10 departures is worse (tail risk)
Cancelled3.8%of scheduled departures
Left the gate on time74%departures that pushed back within 15 min of schedule (DepDel15)

based on 142,187 flights over the last 12 months. On-time means arriving within 15 minutes (BTS standard).

As a connection hub

Arriving here (inbound performance)

These figures reflect inbound flights arriving at this airport — relevant for connections and layovers.

68%arrived on time here
(within 15 min, inbound flights)
  • On time68%
  • 15–59 min late17%
  • 1–2 hr late6%
  • 2 hr+ late5%
  • Cancelled or diverted4%

Arrival outcomes for inbound flights. Last segment = cancelled or diverted.

Bad day: 1 in 10 flights arrives more than 65 min late.

By airline

Carriers departing here (last 12 months)

Delay = arrival delay (ArrDel15-based)

  • Frontier Airlines
    On-time78%
    Medianon time
    p9050 min
    Cancel0.9%
    Flights983
  • United Airlines
    On-time76%
    Medianon time
    p9050 min
    Cancel1.5%
    Flights6,859
  • Delta Air Lines
    On-time76%
    Medianon time
    p9055 min
    Cancel2.5%
    Flights9,263
  • Southwest Airlines
    On-time73%
    Medianon time
    p9050 min
    Cancel1.7%
    Flights15,387
  • American Airlines
    On-time72%
    Medianon time
    p9060 min
    Cancel2.8%
    Flights26,066
  • Republic Airways
    On-time72%
    Medianon time
    p9055 min
    Cancel4.6%
    Flights22,808
  • Envoy Air
    On-time71%
    Medianon time
    p9055 min
    Cancel5.5%
    Flights2,003
  • Alaska Airlines
    On-time70%
    Medianon time
    p9050 min
    Cancel1.2%
    Flights1,927
  • JetBlue Airways
    On-time67%
    Medianon time
    p9080 min
    Cancel2.8%
    Flights6,577
  • PSA Airlines
    On-time63%
    Medianon time
    p9080 min
    Cancel5.7%
    Flights35,588

Over time

On-time trend

By season

On-time rate by month

When it gets busy

Busiest times at DCA

Historically, departures at DCA peak 5–10 a.m. — 26% of scheduled flights leave in that block.

DCA is busier on weekdays — a typical weekday sees about 16% more departures than a weekend day.

  • 5–10 a.m.26%
  • 10 a.m.–2 p.m.25%
  • 2–5 p.m.17%
  • 5–8 p.m.19%
  • 8 p.m.–midnight11%

Share of 422,463 scheduled departures by planned departure time, 2023-06 .. 2026-05. Historical averages from BTS data — not live airport status.

When flights don't go

Why flights were cancelled

  • Airline10%
  • Weather67%
  • Air traffic (NAS)22%
  • Security0%

Most cancellations here are attributed to Weather. Shares are among 5,363 cancellations with a reported cause (BTS reports causes from June 2003).

Where flights go

Busiest routes

DCA → BOS→DCA → LGA→DCA → ORD→DCA → ATL→DCA → DFW→DCA → MIA→DCA → CLT→DCA → MCO→DCA → DTW→DCA → IAH→

Side by side

Compare this airport

Compare with Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airporthead-to-head on-time→Compare with Chicago O'Hare International Airporthead-to-head on-time→Compare with Dallas Fort Worth International Airporthead-to-head on-time→Compare with Denver International Airporthead-to-head on-time→

Will you make a connection at DCA? →

Keep exploring

Related guides

When to arrive at the airportguide→Worst airports for delaysguide→

Methodology

A flight is on time when it arrives within 15 minutes of schedule — the US DOT / BTS standard. Median and p90(the “1-in-10 bad day”) are read from the full arrival-delay distribution, never averaged across periods.

Figures cover a carrier’s own BTS-coded flights. Cells below ~200 flights are flagged as limited data. All numbers are pre-computed from public BTS On-Time Performance data.