OnTimeStats

Airport on-time performance

Washington

Data through May 2026Source: US DOT · BTS
On-time rate79%flights departing here that arrived on time
p90 delay40 min1 in 10 departures is worse (tail risk)
Cancelled1.4%of scheduled departures
Left the gate on time83%departures that pushed back within 15 min of schedule (DepDel15)

based on 58,239 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.

81%arrived on time here
(within 15 min, inbound flights)
  • On time81%
  • 15–59 min late11%
  • 1–2 hr late4%
  • 2 hr+ late3%
  • Cancelled or diverted2%

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

Bad day: 1 in 10 flights arrives more than 35 min late.

By airline

Carriers departing here (last 12 months)

Delay = arrival delay (ArrDel15-based)

  • United Airlines
    On-time81%
    Medianon time
    p9035 min
    Cancel0.8%
    Flights35,002
  • PSA Airlines
    On-time80%
    Medianon time
    p9040 min
    Cancel3.7%
    Flights1,121
  • Delta Air Lines
    On-time78%
    Medianon time
    p9045 min
    Cancel2.7%
    Flights2,860
  • Republic Airways
    On-time77%
    Medianon time
    p9045 min
    Cancel3.0%
    Flights7,219
  • SkyWest Airlines
    On-time76%
    Medianon time
    p9075 min
    Cancel1.9%
    Flights2,261
  • American Airlines
    On-time75%
    Medianon time
    p9045 min
    Cancel2.6%
    Flights1,164
  • Southwest Airlines
    On-time72%
    Medianon time
    p9040 min
    Cancel1.1%
    Flights1,144
  • Alaska Airlines
    On-time69%
    Medianon time
    p9055 min
    Cancel0.9%
    Flights1,360
  • Frontier Airlines
    On-time68%
    Medianon time
    p9080 min
    Cancel1.8%
    Flights706

Over time

On-time trend

By season

On-time rate by month

When it gets busy

Busiest times at IAD

Historically, departures at IAD peak 5–10 a.m. — 33% of scheduled flights leave in that block.

  • 5–10 a.m.33%
  • 10 a.m.–2 p.m.20%
  • 2–5 p.m.6%
  • 5–8 p.m.29%
  • 8 p.m.–midnight12%

Share of 164,266 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

  • Airline22%
  • Weather58%
  • Air traffic (NAS)21%
  • Security0%

Most cancellations here are attributed to Weather. Shares are among 807 cancellations with a reported cause (BTS reports causes from June 2003).

Where flights go

Busiest routes

IAD → ATL→IAD → LAX→IAD → DEN→IAD → SFO→IAD → BOS→IAD → ORD→IAD → MCO→IAD → CLT→IAD → DFW→IAD → DTW→

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 IAD? →

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.