69% of flights leaving Washington (DCA) arrived on time over the past 12 months, 7 points worse than the national average of 76%. That ranks 73 of 76 large U.S. airports. About 404 flights leave DCA on a typical day; 4.0% were cancelled. 70% pushed back from the gate on time, so most of the lateness is already there when the flight leaves the gate.
At a glance
- Best hour to fly: 5 a.m. (89% on time). Worst: 10 p.m. (55%).
- Best month: October (83%). Worst: July (62%).
- Most reliable airline here: United Airlines (73%), vs JetBlue at 65%.
- Biggest delay cause: late-arriving aircraft (50% of delay minutes).
- Year on year: getting worse (73% → 69%).
How late?
The on-time rate treats a flight 20 minutes late the same as one 5 hours late. Here's the split for flights leaving DCA: when a flight was late, it was under 45 minutes late 48% of the time. About 1 in 9 flights landed an hour or more late, and 1 in 43 three hours or more; 4.0% were cancelled outright.
- On time or early69%
- 15–30 min late8.2%
- 30–60 min late7.7%
- 1–2 hours late6.1%
- 2–3 hours late2.4%
- 3+ hours late2.3%
- Diverted0.3%
- Cancelled4.0%
Share of all 147,469 scheduled flights, past 12 months, by arrival time against schedule.
Best time of day to fly out of DCA
Time of day matters more at DCA than almost anything else you control. Flights scheduled to leave at 5 a.m. arrived on time 89% of the time; at 10 p.m. it was 55%, a 35-point gap. Taken together, early departures (5–9 a.m.) ran 83% on time against 58% for the evening bank (5–10 p.m.). Early planes usually start the day at the airport, so they haven't had a chance to pick up delays elsewhere. By evening a late inbound aircraft, a crew running out of duty hours or an afternoon thunderstorm can push one late flight into the next. Cancellations cluster too: 10 p.m. departures were cancelled 10.2% of the time, against 4.0% overall.
Hour × month
Combine the two and the spread is wider still. The most reliable combination at DCA was a 5 a.m. departure in November (95% on time); the least, 7 p.m. in July (41%). If you can only move one thing, move the hour. Departure hour usually shifts the odds more than the month does.
Each cell: on-time rate for that departure hour in that calendar month, 2023–2026. Find your travel month, then look along the row for the greenest hour.
Best and worst months
July is the hardest month at DCA, with 62% of flights on time across 2023–2026; October is the best at 83%. Summer (June–August) runs 15 points worse than autumn: heavy schedules, peak loads and afternoon thunderstorms. Winter costs 10 points against autumn. Cancellations peak in January (8.2% of flights).
Airlines at DCA
American Airlines runs 62% of departures from DCA, so DCA is effectively its hub. When American Airlines has a bad day, so does the airport. Among airlines with at least 1,000 departures here, United Airlines was the most reliable (73% on time) and JetBlue the least (65%), a 8-point difference. On a route where both fly, that difference is worth more than a small fare gap.
| Airline | Departures | On time | Left on time | Cancelled | Typical arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlines | 90,759 | 68% | 69% | 4.7% | −4 min |
| Delta Air Lines | 19,939 | 73% | 74% | 3.5% | −7 min |
| Southwest Airlines | 16,026 | 71% | 65% | 2.2% | −2 min |
| United Airlines | 10,854 | 73% | 77% | 3.3% | −7 min |
| JetBlue | 6,726 | 65% | 67% | 4.1% | −2 min |
| Alaska Airlines | 2,182 | 71% | 73% | 1.0% | −3 min |
| Frontier Airlines | 983 | 77% | 84% | 1.0% | −7 min |
Why flights are late at DCA
Airlines report a cause for every flight that arrives 15 or more minutes late. At DCA, 50% of delay minutes came from late-arriving aircraft: the plane showed up late from its previous flight, so the delay started somewhere else. Next is the airlines themselves at 24%. That's why the first flight of the morning is the safest bet: it has no earlier flight to inherit a delay from. Of the 5,942 cancellations, 63% were blamed on weather.
The average taxi from gate to takeoff is 23 minutes, longer than at most large U.S. airports. Airlines pad schedules for it, but a long queue on a busy afternoon still eats into the buffer.
DCA vs nearby airports
DCA isn't the only option in Washington. Over the past year IAD ran 79% on time with 1.7% of flights cancelled; BWI ran 75% on time with 2.0% of flights cancelled, against 69% and 4.0% at DCA. IAD and BWI have the better record, so if fares and times are close, they are the safer pick.
| Airport | Distance | Departures | On time | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DCA Washington Reagan National | — | 147,469 | 69% | 4.0% |
| IAD Washington Dulles | 23 mi | 90,830 | 79% | 1.7% |
| BWI Baltimore/Washington | 30 mi | 94,085 | 75% | 2.0% |
Month by month
Over the latest 12 months 69% of DCA departures were on time, against 73% in the 12 months before, a decline of 4 points. The best recent month was September 2025 (77%); the worst, July 2026 (58%).
Worst cancellation days
The worst single day in the past year was Sunday, Jan 25, 2026, when 100% of 413 scheduled departures were cancelled. Days like that are usually a major storm, a system outage or a holiday peak hitting bad weather. No average predicts them, so on a stormy forecast, check your airline's travel waivers.
| Date | Departures | Cancelled | On time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 25, 2026 | 413 | 100% | 0% |
| Jan 26, 2026 | 428 | 78% | 4% |
| Feb 23, 2026 | 428 | 44% | 45% |
| Jul 21, 2026 | 424 | 43% | 27% |
| Jan 27, 2026 | 427 | 40% | 22% |
| Mar 16, 2026 | 430 | 39% | 26% |
| Jun 12, 2026 | 430 | 37% | 23% |
| Aug 7, 2026 | 428 | 36% | 32% |
| Feb 22, 2026 | 413 | 33% | 41% |
| Jul 18, 2026 | 331 | 27% | 34% |
Last flights of the day
The last flight of the day is a different bet. Across routes from DCA, each airline's final departure was cancelled 6.3% of the time, against 3.4% for its earlier flights (1.9× as often). Late in the day crews run short on duty hours, aircraft arrive late from elsewhere, and with no later flight to fold passengers into, cancelling is easier for the airline. 2.9% of last flights landed 3+ hours late. The riskiest last flight out was United Airlines to Newark (11.2% cancelled).
| Last flight to | Airline | Leaves | Cancelled | 3h+ late | On time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EWR Newark | United Airlines | 8:25 p.m. | 11.2% | 6.0% | 46% |
| MKE Milwaukee | American Airlines | 10:00 p.m. | 14.3% | 2.0% | 56% |
| HPN White Plains | American Airlines | 10:03 p.m. | 10.9% | 5.0% | 53% |
| CLE Cleveland | American Airlines | 10:30 p.m. | 12.9% | 2.8% | 51% |
| GRR Grand Rapids | American Airlines | 8:05 p.m. | 9.7% | 5.9% | 48% |
| MSN Madison | American Airlines | 10:00 p.m. | 12.3% | 3.1% | 50% |
| BGR Bangor | American Airlines | 10:04 p.m. | 13.0% | 1.7% | 56% |
| SAV Savannah | American Airlines | 8:01 p.m. | 8.0% | 6.6% | 49% |
| ALB Albany | American Airlines | 10:15 p.m. | 10.8% | 3.0% | 51% |
| GSP Greer | American Airlines | 7:45 p.m. | 7.8% | 5.8% | 51% |
| BHM Birmingham | American Airlines | 9:15 p.m. | 9.2% | 3.9% | 58% |
| AVL Asheville | American Airlines | 5:36 p.m. | 10.4% | 2.6% | 51% |
Each airline's last scheduled departure of the day on a route, on days it flies the route at least twice; past 12 months. Riskiest first.
DCA at the holidays
On the busy Thanksgiving travel days, flights from DCA arrived on time 71% of the time, against 81% normally (−10.4 points; 26th of the 30 busiest airports). On the busy Christmas–New Year travel days, flights from DCA arrived on time 79% of the time, against 70% normally (+8.5 points; 2nd of the 30 busiest airports).
Thanksgiving: best days to fly → · Christmas: best days to fly →
Tips for flying out of DCA
- Book the earliest departure you can live with. At DCA the 5 a.m. flights do best.
- Traveling in July? Leave extra slack for anything that can't move: cruises, weddings, the last connection of the day.
- Choosing between airlines? United Airlines has the better record here.
- Need to arrive tonight? Don't book the last flight out of DCA; the one before it leaves you a backup.
- Connecting here? See how long a layover you need at DCA.
- Delayed already? Most delays at DCA come from late-arriving aircraft. If your inbound plane is late, your flight will be too, whatever the board says.
Delayed at DCA right now? See how much later DCA delays usually get, and what to do →
Routes from DCA
Where you're going matters too. From DCA, the most reliable busy route was to Houston (IAH, 78% on time) and the least reliable to White Plains (HPN, 57%). Flights into congested airports inherit their delays: an air traffic program at the destination holds planes on the ground here.
Least reliable first. Routes with at least 365 flights a year.
| To | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Typical arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TLH Tallahassee | 366 | 56% | 9.3% | 0 min |
| HPN White Plains | 1,354 | 57% | 7.3% | +3 min |
| GRR Grand Rapids | 730 | 57% | 5.8% | +1 min |
| ORF Norfolk | 1,039 | 59% | 4.8% | +1 min |
| BUF Buffalo | 1,108 | 60% | 5.6% | +3 min |
| CLE Cleveland | 1,604 | 60% | 8.0% | −1 min |
| PHL Philadelphia | 786 | 60% | 3.3% | +2 min |
| GSP Greer | 999 | 61% | 5.2% | 0 min |
| MHT Manchester | 1,057 | 61% | 7.1% | +1 min |
| DAY Dayton | 956 | 61% | 3.7% | 0 min |
| LGA New York | 4,844 | 61% | 6.4% | 0 min |
| ALB Albany | 1,188 | 62% | 5.6% | 0 min |
| AVL Asheville | 518 | 62% | 5.6% | 0 min |
| PNS Pensacola | 1,074 | 62% | 4.4% | −1 min |
| BGR Bangor | 1,122 | 62% | 7.1% | −1 min |
| CAE Columbia | 1,092 | 63% | 5.9% | −2 min |
| OKC Oklahoma City | 691 | 63% | 3.6% | +1 min |
| TYS Knoxville | 1,021 | 63% | 3.9% | −2 min |
| BTV Burlington | 1,119 | 63% | 5.5% | −4 min |
| TUL Tulsa | 400 | 63% | 4.8% | −1 min |
| SYR Syracuse | 1,028 | 63% | 5.5% | −2 min |
| ROC Rochester | 1,032 | 64% | 6.1% | +1 min |
| BDL Hartford | 1,680 | 64% | 6.2% | −2 min |
| SAV Savannah | 1,104 | 64% | 4.8% | −6 min |
| RDU Raleigh | 3,018 | 65% | 4.8% | −1 min |
| PWM Portland | 1,143 | 65% | 4.1% | −2 min |
| MSN Madison | 1,238 | 65% | 5.9% | −2 min |
| BHM Birmingham | 1,043 | 65% | 5.3% | −6 min |
| CVG Cincinnati | 2,019 | 65% | 3.5% | −4 min |
| FLL Fort Lauderdale | 2,320 | 66% | 2.8% | −1 min |
| CHS Charleston | 1,748 | 66% | 3.6% | 0 min |
| EWR Newark | 3,247 | 67% | 6.4% | −8 min |
| BOS Boston | 9,104 | 67% | 4.3% | −4 min |
| MEM Memphis | 1,091 | 67% | 5.7% | −3 min |
| DSM Des Moines | 700 | 67% | 6.4% | −7 min |
| ECP Panama City | 397 | 68% | 5.0% | −3 min |
| OMA Omaha | 645 | 68% | 2.2% | −1 min |
| LAS Las Vegas | 729 | 68% | 1.5% | −2 min |
| MCI Kansas City | 1,952 | 68% | 3.7% | −2 min |
| HSV Huntsville | 1,307 | 68% | 4.4% | −6 min |
| ILM Wilmington | 879 | 68% | 6.8% | −5 min |
| PVD Providence | 2,426 | 69% | 5.2% | −4 min |
| PIT Pittsburgh | 1,413 | 70% | 4.3% | −4 min |
| STL St. Louis | 2,415 | 70% | 3.1% | −3 min |
| DAL Dallas | 1,733 | 70% | 2.1% | −1 min |
| MSY New Orleans | 1,948 | 70% | 3.3% | −5 min |
| JAX Jacksonville | 1,435 | 70% | 3.3% | −4 min |
| ORD Chicago | 7,112 | 71% | 3.6% | −4 min |
| SDF Louisville | 1,027 | 71% | 5.4% | −7 min |
| SFO San Francisco | 1,090 | 71% | 0.8% | −5 min |
| GSO Greensboro | 767 | 72% | 4.7% | −8 min |
| TPA Tampa | 2,248 | 72% | 2.6% | −6 min |
| MYR Myrtle Beach | 754 | 72% | 5.4% | −5 min |
| SEA Seattle | 1,092 | 72% | 1.4% | −5 min |
| PBI West Palm Beach | 1,689 | 72% | 2.0% | −5 min |
| MKE Milwaukee | 1,346 | 72% | 5.3% | −5 min |
| DTW Detroit | 2,973 | 72% | 4.0% | −7 min |
| JFK New York | 2,729 | 73% | 6.1% | −8 min |
| RSW Fort Myers | 857 | 73% | 2.5% | −8 min |
| MCO Orlando | 4,593 | 73% | 2.6% | −5 min |
| MDW Chicago | 2,099 | 73% | 2.8% | −2 min |
| MSP Minneapolis | 2,653 | 73% | 3.2% | −6 min |
| BNA Nashville | 4,384 | 73% | 3.1% | −5 min |
| LAX Los Angeles | 1,454 | 74% | 1.7% | −5 min |
| HOU Houston | 1,053 | 74% | 2.2% | −4 min |
| IND Indianapolis | 2,022 | 74% | 3.8% | −7 min |
| ATL Atlanta | 6,799 | 74% | 3.6% | −8 min |
| CMH Columbus | 2,051 | 75% | 3.9% | −6 min |
| MIA Miami | 3,954 | 75% | 2.1% | −9 min |
| DFW Dallas | 3,304 | 76% | 2.9% | −10 min |
| CLT Charlotte | 2,677 | 76% | 2.9% | −10 min |
| DEN Denver | 1,347 | 77% | 0.9% | −7 min |
| SRQ Sarasota | 465 | 77% | 1.7% | −5 min |
| IAH Houston | 3,351 | 78% | 2.3% | −13 min |
| EYW Key West | 596 | 80% | 1.7% | −10 min |
| PHX Phoenix | 1,086 | 80% | 1.5% | −11 min |
Flights into DCA
Arriving rather than leaving? These are the routes into Washington Reagan National, least reliable first. The weakest is from Philadelphia (53% on time).
| From | Flights | On time | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|
| PHL Philadelphia | 785 | 53% | 5.3% |
| HPN White Plains | 1,351 | 55% | 7.0% |
| AVL Asheville | 518 | 55% | 7.3% |
| RDU Raleigh | 3,017 | 57% | 5.2% |
| CLE Cleveland | 1,605 | 59% | 8.1% |
| EWR Newark | 3,247 | 59% | 5.7% |
| SYR Syracuse | 1,028 | 60% | 6.0% |
| CVG Cincinnati | 2,017 | 60% | 4.3% |
| GSP Greer | 999 | 61% | 5.5% |
| ILM Wilmington | 879 | 61% | 8.2% |
| BTV Burlington | 1,118 | 61% | 5.1% |
| JFK New York | 2,761 | 62% | 6.5% |
| LGA New York | 4,841 | 62% | 5.8% |
| BUF Buffalo | 1,108 | 62% | 5.4% |
| ORF Norfolk | 1,038 | 62% | 4.0% |
| ROC Rochester | 1,033 | 62% | 6.7% |
| GRR Grand Rapids | 728 | 63% | 4.3% |
| ALB Albany | 1,188 | 63% | 5.5% |
| DAL Dallas | 1,732 | 64% | 2.0% |
| BDL Hartford | 1,681 | 64% | 6.3% |
| BGR Bangor | 1,123 | 65% | 6.4% |
| PIT Pittsburgh | 1,413 | 65% | 3.4% |
| ECP Panama City | 397 | 65% | 6.3% |
| MHT Manchester | 1,057 | 65% | 6.4% |
| DTW Detroit | 2,972 | 65% | 4.2% |
Showing the 25 least reliable of 76 routes into DCA.
Questions about DCA delays
What is the best time to fly out of DCA?
Flights scheduled at 5 a.m.: over the past year 89% of DCA departures at that hour arrived on time, against 55% at 10 p.m., the worst hour.
What month has the most flight delays at DCA?
July (62% on time). October is the best month (83%).
Which airline is most on time at DCA?
United Airlines: 73% of its DCA departures arrived on time over the past year. JetBlue had the weakest record at 65%.
Why are flights delayed at DCA?
The biggest cause was late-arriving aircraft (50% of delay minutes): the plane showed up late from its previous flight, so the delay started somewhere else. Then the airlines themselves (24%).
Is DCA or IAD or BWI more reliable?
Over the past year: DCA 69% on time, IAD 79%, BWI 75%.
How often are flights cancelled at DCA?
4.0% of scheduled departures over the past 12 months, peaking in January at 8.2%.
Hours are scheduled local departure times. "On time" means arriving less than 15 minutes late at the destination; cancelled and diverted flights count as not on time. Method.