Washington, DC · Airport profile
DCA
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
76.5% of departures from DCA arrived on time across 435,076 flights, July 2023 – July 2026. The weakest hour is 6 PM, at 65.7%. Late-arriving aircraft accounts for the most delay minutes.
DCA right now
Live conditions where a permitted source publishes them, and the historical record where none does.
Aviation weather is not currently a factor.
90.8% leave on time
05:00–05:59 local · 3,116 departures on record
When flights run late in this hour, most of the delay is attributed to the airline.
Historical pattern for DCA from US DOT BTS — not a live reading.
Minimal operational impact. Conditions are not a notable factor for operations right now.
UpdatedForecast issued 09:00Z.
UpdatedBelow 10,000 ft, so aircraft overflying at cruise are not counted. These are observations, not an operational status: a count is a floor, since receiver coverage varies and a movement between two samples can be missed.
UpdatedAircraft observations from ADSB.lol (opens in a new tab) (Katia Esposito and contributing feeders), under the ODbL 1.0 (opens in a new tab). Derived data.
FlyerIntel shows live values only where a permitted source provides them. Sections without data are left empty rather than estimated.
Airport reliability
Departures from DCA, July 2023 – July 2026.
Better than 2% of major US airports covered by FlyerIntel (64 compared)
Calculated from 435,076 flights. How this is calculated
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026
Why flights are cancelled at DCA
Every cancellation carries a reason code filed by the airline that operated the flight. Departures, July 2023 – July 2026.
Extreme weather accounts for 66.0% of cancelled departures from DCA — about 1 in every 51 scheduled departures. That is 6 points higher than the 59.5% recorded across every airport FlyerIntel covers.
Share of cancellations
Of 12,834 cancelled departures carrying a reason code.
What each reason means
Conditions the carrier judged severe enough to stop the flight: a blizzard, a hurricane, a line of thunderstorms.
8,473 cancellations, 66.0% of the total.
Airport capacity, air traffic control flow programs, heavy traffic and ordinary bad weather. A system decision, not the airline’s.
2,346 cancellations, 18.3% of the total.
Crew, maintenance, aircraft cleaning, baggage or fueling: what BTS counts as within the carrier’s own control.
1,991 cancellations, 15.5% of the total.
A terminal evacuation, a security breach, screening equipment failure, or screening queues over 29 minutes.
24 cancellations, 0.2% of the total.
12,834 of 435,076 scheduled departures from DCA were cancelled. Ordinary bad weather is filed under air traffic, so weather’s full share is larger than its bar.
By carrier
| Carrier | Cancelled | Rate | Airline | Weather | Air traffic | Security |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA Airlines OH | 5,621 | 4.65% | 15% | 74% | 10% | <1% |
| Republic Airways YX | 2,610 | 3.19% | 11% | 49% | 40% | <1% |
| American Airlines AA | 1,849 | 2.18% | 9% | 84% | 7% | 0% |
| Southwest Airlines WN | 774 | 1.57% | 16% | 70% | 14% | 0% |
| JetBlue B6 | 582 | 2.48% | 21% | 43% | 36% | 0% |
| Delta Air Lines DL | 505 | 1.79% | 45% | 47% | 9% | 0% |
Shares are of each carrier’s own coded cancellations at DCA and run across the row, so they total 100%. “Rate” is cancellations as a share of that carrier’s scheduled departures here. Two carriers on the same runways in the same weather can file very different splits, so read this as what each airline reported about itself, not as a ranking of fault. Carriers below the published minimum of coded cancellations are not listed.
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026 · Reason codes are each airline’s own filing, not an independent finding of fault. Shown for airports with at least 500 coded cancellations; 12,834 were recorded at DCA.
Why flights run late at DCA
Where US DOT attributed the delay minutes on departures from DCA.
the inbound aircraft was late, so this flight started late
crew, maintenance, boarding and fueling, all within the carrier’s control
airspace and airport capacity, including weather-driven flow control
weather severe enough to stop this flight specifically
screening or terminal security incidents
Share of the delay minutes US DOT attributed to each cause for departures from DCA. Only delays of 15 minutes or more are attributed.
Of the 81,820 departures from DCA that left 15 or more minutes late and have a known inbound aircraft, 64% followed a flight that landed 15 or more minutes late. The other 36% left late even though the aircraft had come in on time or early. Across the 64 covered airports that share runs from 47% to 73%, with a median of 62%; DCA’s is the 23rd highest.
The late flight is the one the same aircraft flew into DCA just before, found from the tail number in the DOT file. Airlines and hours differ from one airport to the next, so this describes the departures from DCA and does not rate the airport.
An airport is only partly the author of its own delays. Late-arriving aircraft describes the national schedule arriving here more than anything about this airfield. Air traffic control covers airspace and airport capacity, which is where a congested airport shows up; only the airline category sits squarely inside the carriers’ own operation. How differently they run it is further down this page.
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026
What weather costs at DCA
Departures from DCA by the weather at the airport in the hour they were scheduled to leave, July 2023 – July 2026.
9.5% of scheduled departures from DCA left in an hour of bad weather. 9.3% of them were cancelled, against 2.2% in normal conditions, and 63.5% of the ones that flew arrived on time, against 78.3%. Those hours held 30% of all cancelled departures. That is about 2,928 more cancellations than the normal-conditions rate would give.
Cancellations were highest in snow or ice hours: 30.8% of 4,344 departures, 13.9 times the normal rate.
Airlines filed 66% of DCA’s coded cancellations under extreme weather. By the weather at the airport in the scheduled hour, 30% of cancelled departures were in bad-weather hours. A code is the airline’s stated reason and an hour’s weather is what the airport reported, so the two need not match.
By weather
Scheduled departures, July 2023 – July 2026| Weather at the airport | Departures | Cancelled | Left on time | Arrived on time | Avg. departure delay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal conditionsVFR with no thunderstorm, snow or ice, fog, heavy rain or high wind | 356,08181.9% of all | 2.2% | 78.3% | 78.3% | 13.5 min |
| Any bad weatherIFR or LIFR, or a thunderstorm, snow or ice, fog, heavy rain or high wind | 41,4499.5% of all | 9.3%4.2 times normal | 68.2% | 63.5%14.8 points below normal | 29.4 min |
| MVFRceiling 1,000 to 3,000 feet or visibility 3 to 5 miles | 39,4669.1% of all | 4.0%1.8 times normal | 73.0% | 71.3%7.0 points below normal | 19.9 min |
| IFRceiling 500 to 999 feet or visibility 1 to under 3 miles | 22,5865.2% of all | 7.3%3.3 times normal | 71.9% | 67.4%10.9 points below normal | 22.7 min |
| LIFRceiling under 500 feet or visibility under 1 mile | 5,8691.4% of all | 13.7%6.1 times normal | 68.3% | 63.1%15.2 points below normal | 31.4 min |
| Thunderstorma thunderstorm reported at the airport | 5,2551.2% of all | 23.4%10.5 times normal | 34.5% | 25.4%52.9 points below normal | 93.5 min |
| Snow or icesnow, snow grains, ice pellets, freezing rain or freezing drizzle | 4,3441.0% of all | 30.8%13.9 times normal | 54.4% | 38.0%40.3 points below normal | 48.6 min |
| Fogfog or freezing fog reported at the airport | 1,4780.3% of all | 11.4%5.1 times normal | 66.0% | 59.0%19.3 points below normal | 41.8 min |
| Heavy rainheavy rain reported at the airport | 3,5870.8% of all | 13.4%6.0 times normal | 49.9% | 42.2%36.1 points below normal | 57.8 min |
| High windwind of 25 knots or more, or gusts of 30 knots or more | 9,2932.1% of all | 8.5%3.8 times normal | 65.2% | 61.8%16.5 points below normal | 33.5 min |
| Low ceilinga broken or overcast layer under 1,000 feet | 22,3115.1% of all | 5.3%2.4 times normal | 75.2% | 71.8%6.5 points below normal | 17.8 min |
| Low visibilityvisibility under 3 miles | 14,0693.2% of all | 12.7%5.7 times normal | 64.7% | 57.7%20.6 points below normal | 33.8 min |
A departure is counted in every row its hour fits, so the rows overlap and do not add up. Left on time is a departure under 15 minutes late, and arrived on time an arrival under 15 minutes late; cancelled is the share of scheduled departures. Rows with fewer than 120 departures are not scored.
This is the weather reported at DCA in the hour a flight was scheduled to leave. It leaves out the weather at the destination and on the way, weather that arrived after the scheduled time, and anything else that goes wrong in a bad hour. An hour takes the worst conditions any report in it gave. Weather was matched to 99.9% of the airport’s scheduled departures; the rest left in hours with no report, or at a scheduled time the flight records cannot place exactly. Bad-weather hours are compared with normal hours at the same airport, not with what the same flights would have done in a clear sky: they also fall more often in some seasons and at some times of day.
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS flight records and Iowa Environmental Mesonet weather reports · July 2023 – July 2026 · Where the weather comes from, and its limits. All covered airports side by side: What Weather Costs Each Airport.
Which airlines hold up in bad weather at DCA
Cancellations by airline in hours of bad weather at DCA, against the other carriers in the same months, July 2023 – July 2026.
10% of the weather-matched departures from DCA left in an hour of bad weather at the airport. 9.3% of them were cancelled. That is 4.2 times the 2.2% in normal hours. No one carrier holds most of them; 9 airlines have enough to compare.
Compared with the other carriers at DCA in the same months, Alaska Airlines (3.0% cancelled against 9.6% for the others; below them in normal hours too) cancelled the fewest in bad weather and PSA Airlines (14.6% cancelled against 7.4% for the others; above them in normal hours too) the most. 6 more airlines are also clearly apart from the others.
Airlines in bad weather at DCA
Scheduled departures, July 2023 – July 2026| Airline | Bad-weather departures | Cancelled | Other carriers | Normal hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska Airlines | 6432% of bad-weather | 3.0%below the others | 9.6% | 0.7%others 2.3% |
| United Airlines | 1,9025% of bad-weather | 4.6%below the others | 9.7% | 1.4%others 2.3% |
| Delta Air Lines | 2,7267% of bad-weather | 5.3%below the others | 10.0% | 1.4%others 2.3% |
| Southwest Airlines | 4,73011% of bad-weather | 6.0%below the others | 10.0% | 1.1%others 2.4% |
| American Airlines | 8,23620% of bad-weather | 6.4%below the others | 9.5% | 1.7%others 2.3% |
| JetBlue | 2,3046% of bad-weather | 6.1%below the others | 8.8% | 2.1%others 2.1% |
| Envoy Air | 1,2973% of bad-weather | 11.4% | 10.4% | 2.0%others 2.4% |
| Republic Airways | 7,80119% of bad-weather | 10.7%above the others | 9.0% | 2.4%others 2.2% |
| PSA Airlines | 11,17227% of bad-weather | 14.6%above the others | 7.4% | 3.5%others 1.8% |
Best first. The other carriers’ column applies their rate in each month to the airline’s own departures, so a stormy month is not held against it; the normal-hours column gives the same pair outside bad weather.
The 9 listed airlines flew 98% of the bad-weather departures at DCA; a carrier under 500 is not listed. The comparison does not hold the hour of the day, the destination or the aircraft fixed, and a gap counts as clear only at 2 standard errors and 0.3 points. Envoy Air, Republic Airways and PSA Airlines fly for mainline airlines and are counted as carriers of their own here, though they share the airport’s gates, its de-icing and often its decisions to cancel.
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS flight records and Iowa Environmental Mesonet weather reports · July 2023 – July 2026 · Where the weather comes from, and its limits. All covered airports side by side: What Weather Costs Each Airport.
Turning aircraft around at DCA
Time on the ground between one flight and the next of the same aircraft at DCA, and what a late arrival does to the next departure, July 2023 – July 2026.
The median turn at DCA is scheduled for 55 minutes on the ground and takes 59 minutes, against 56 minutes and 63 minutes across all airports. The typical turn runs 4 minutes over its schedule, closer to it than the 7 minutes across all airports. 21.4% of turns here began with an aircraft that landed 15 or more minutes late, above the 18.9% for all airports.
When the aircraft landed 15 or more minutes late (71,142 turns here, 62 minutes late on average), 73% of the turns were finished in no more than the scheduled ground time, against 68% across all airports. 70% of those flights left 15 or more minutes late, against 72%. After an aircraft that landed on time, 10% did (all airports 11%).
Given the turn lengths scheduled here, the network’s rates would give 66% finished in the schedule and 74% leaving late. DCA does better on both counts: more late turns are finished in the schedule and fewer late aircraft become late departures, so the turn recovers lateness here beyond what the schedule explains.
Turns at DCA against all airports
331,927 turns, July 2023 – July 2026| Measure | DCA | All airports | All airports, same turn lengths |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median scheduled turn | 55 min | 56 min | — |
| Median actual turn | 59 min | 63 min | — |
| Turns that began with an aircraft 15+ minutes late | 21% | 19% | — |
| Late turns finished within the schedule | 73% | 68% | 66% |
| Late inbound that left 15+ minutes late | 70% | 72% | 74% |
| On-time inbound that left 15+ minutes late | 10% | 11% | — |
The last column is the network’s rate at the turn lengths scheduled at DCA, band by band from under 30 minutes to 3 to 6 hours. A turn finishes within the schedule when the aircraft spent no more time on the ground than the schedule gave it.
A turn pairs an aircraft’s landing at DCA with its next departure from it by tail number; the aircraft is never named. These 331,927 turns are 76% of the flights that left DCA in the period; the rest are an aircraft’s first flight after a long stay, flights without a usable inbound, and cancelled flights. Ground time runs from the gate. Turns under 30 minutes are kept, but most leave late even after an on-time landing.
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS flight records · July 2023 – July 2026 · Airports side by side: Where a Late Aircraft Gets Its Time Back.
What sets DCA apart
Where DCA’s hours, months, airlines and taxi time differ most from the other airports, July 2023 – July 2026.
4 PM is where DCA falls furthest behind the rest: 67.5% of its 4 PM departures arrive on time, 4.1 points below the 71.6% for that hour elsewhere.
February is DCA’s hardest month against the field, 75.0% on time to 81.3% elsewhere, 6.3 points short.
Frontier Airlines does better out of DCA than anywhere else it flies: 79.9% on time here, 71.7% on its other departures, 8.2 points apart.
PSA Airlines’ departures from DCA arrive on time 71.5% of the time, 5.2 points worse than the 76.7% the same airline manages at its other airports.
Departing aircraft spend 21.6 minutes on average between pushback and takeoff at DCA, 3.0 minutes more than the 18.6 minutes at the other airports.
DCA against the other airports
July 2023 – July 2026| Measure | DCA | Elsewhere | Gap | Flights behind it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hour: 4 PM departures | 67.5% | 71.6% | −4.1 pts | 18,898 here, 982,746 elsewhere |
| Month: February | 75.0% | 81.3% | −6.3 pts | 31,901 here, 1,214,808 elsewhere |
| Airline: Frontier Airlines | 79.9% | 71.7% | +8.2 pts | 3,190 here, 611,771 elsewhere |
| Airline: PSA Airlines | 71.5% | 76.7% | −5.2 pts | 114,829 here, 576,214 elsewhere |
| Taxi-out: Departures | 21.6 min | 18.6 min | +3.0 min | 422,906 here, 17,207,203 elsewhere |
"Elsewhere" is every other covered airport together, taken from the same aggregates as this page with DCA’s own flights removed (for airlines, that airline’s flights from all its other airports). Hours, months and airlines appear only where both sides have at least 120 completed flights (airlines 500) and the gap is at least 2 points and 2 standard errors; only the largest gap in each direction is shown. The taxi figure is weighted by departures and has no error estimate, so it appears from 2 minutes.
Best time to fly from DCA
On-time arrival rate by scheduled local departure time: each weekday and hour, and averaged over the week.
Flights departing 5–9 AM arrived on time 87.1% of the time, against 67.3% for 6–9 PM departures — a gap of 19.8 percentage points.
By day and hour
On-time arrival rate for each weekday and scheduled departure hour, in local time.
Saturday 6–7 AM was the most reliable slot at DCA (92.0% on time, 3,318 flights) and Sunday 6–7 PM the least (59.8%, 2,921 flights).
Hour of departure matters more than day of the week: hourly averages sit a typical 8.3 points from the airport-wide rate, weekday averages 2.4 points.
| Hour | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
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On-time rate, % · stronger color, fewer on time
- 60–64
- 65–69
- 70–74
- 75–79
- 80–84
- 85–89
- 90–94
- Most reliable slot
- Least reliable slot
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026 · On time is arrival within 15 minutes of schedule. Cells round to whole percentages; the table shows one decimal.
Best and worst slots are named only among slots with 500+ flights, and only when the gap is larger than sampling error. Departures after 11 PM (39 flights) are not drawn: no slot in those hours has enough flights to score.
View as tableHide table
| Hour | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 AM–6 AM | 93.3% on time441 flights | 90.0% on time414 flights | 90.8% on time442 flights | 92.9% on time445 flights | 90.7% on time447 flights | 91.0% on time463 flights | 92.7% on time464 flights |
| 6 AM–7 AM | 90.6% on time4,990 flights | 91.8% on time4,976 flights | 91.3% on time4,848 flights | 91.0% on time4,960 flights | 88.4% on time4,950 flights | 92.0% on time3,318 flights | 91.3% on time3,455 flights |
| 7 AM–8 AM | 87.1% on time3,296 flights | 89.3% on time3,285 flights | 89.3% on time3,207 flights | 87.5% on time3,282 flights | 87.0% on time3,290 flights | 88.9% on time3,102 flights | 89.9% on time2,933 flights |
| 8 AM–9 AM | 83.1% on time6,167 flights | 83.7% on time6,106 flights | 83.5% on time6,082 flights | 81.9% on time6,133 flights | 81.2% on time6,113 flights | 84.6% on time5,716 flights | 84.7% on time5,606 flights |
| 9 AM–10 AM | 81.0% on time2,370 flights | 83.4% on time2,365 flights | 81.9% on time2,323 flights | 81.6% on time2,351 flights | 79.7% on time2,375 flights | 83.8% on time2,364 flights | 83.9% on time2,381 flights |
| 10 AM–11 AM | 83.4% on time4,815 flights | 84.5% on time4,777 flights | 84.8% on time4,749 flights | 84.4% on time4,786 flights | 82.4% on time4,758 flights | 86.7% on time4,327 flights | 85.5% on time4,779 flights |
| 11 AM–12 PM | 80.5% on time3,896 flights | 84.9% on time3,880 flights | 83.5% on time3,883 flights | 81.3% on time3,859 flights | 80.2% on time3,863 flights | 83.2% on time3,021 flights | 82.4% on time3,764 flights |
| 12 PM–1 PM | 77.7% on time3,459 flights | 81.7% on time3,437 flights | 81.1% on time3,441 flights | 77.6% on time3,426 flights | 76.6% on time3,425 flights | 81.3% on time2,776 flights | 79.4% on time3,493 flights |
| 1 PM–2 PM | 74.4% on time4,118 flights | 78.3% on time4,085 flights | 75.9% on time4,104 flights | 73.0% on time4,088 flights | 72.6% on time4,076 flights | 78.3% on time3,171 flights | 72.5% on time4,005 flights |
| 2 PM–3 PM | 72.6% on time3,675 flights | 76.0% on time3,670 flights | 74.3% on time3,669 flights | 70.7% on time3,616 flights | 70.9% on time3,656 flights | 76.2% on time3,429 flights | 72.2% on time3,683 flights |
| 3 PM–4 PM | 72.7% on time4,564 flights | 76.0% on time4,522 flights | 73.1% on time4,524 flights | 71.0% on time4,463 flights | 68.0% on time4,535 flights | 78.1% on time3,425 flights | 69.2% on time4,567 flights |
| 4 PM–5 PM | 67.3% on time2,847 flights | 69.3% on time2,851 flights | 69.7% on time2,841 flights | 63.7% on time2,787 flights | 64.6% on time2,850 flights | 73.9% on time2,432 flights | 64.9% on time2,877 flights |
| 5 PM–6 PM | 66.6% on time5,560 flights | 70.2% on time5,536 flights | 66.9% on time5,535 flights | 63.1% on time5,463 flights | 63.7% on time5,581 flights | 75.0% on time3,843 flights | 63.2% on time5,478 flights |
| 6 PM–7 PM | 67.5% on time2,899 flights | 69.9% on time2,767 flights | 66.7% on time2,776 flights | 63.3% on time2,830 flights | 62.3% on time2,868 flights | 72.0% on time2,227 flights | 59.8% on time2,921 flights |
| 7 PM–8 PM | 68.3% on time4,299 flights | 71.7% on time4,308 flights | 66.6% on time4,299 flights | 65.5% on time4,189 flights | 62.5% on time4,271 flights | 77.1% on time2,418 flights | 60.0% on time4,294 flights |
| 8 PM–9 PM | 68.9% on time3,484 flights | 73.8% on time3,370 flights | 69.1% on time3,377 flights | 66.9% on time3,398 flights | 65.6% on time3,435 flights | 79.1% on time2,152 flights | 65.0% on time3,450 flights |
| 9 PM–10 PM | 74.3% on time698 flights | 74.6% on time685 flights | 69.1% on time690 flights | 65.8% on time677 flights | 66.8% on time706 flights | 82.4% on time265 flights | 66.5% on time724 flights |
| 10 PM–11 PM | 70.5% on time3,701 flights | 73.3% on time3,686 flights | 69.7% on time3,677 flights | 65.0% on time3,600 flights | 65.5% on time3,659 flights | 86.7% on time321 flights | 64.9% on time3,716 flights |
By departure window
All days combinedBy departure hour
All days combined- 12 AM to 4 AM: too few flights to score
- 5 AM: 91.6% on time from 3,116 flights
- 6 AM: 90.8% on time from 31,497 flights
- 7 AM: 88.4% on time from 22,395 flights
- 8 AM: 83.2% on time from 41,923 flights
- 9 AM: 82.2% on time from 16,529 flights
- 10 AM: 84.5% on time from 32,991 flights
- 11 AM: 82.2% on time from 26,166 flights
- 12 PM: 79.3% on time from 23,457 flights
- 1 PM: 74.9% on time from 27,647 flights
- 2 PM: 73.3% on time from 25,398 flights
- 3 PM: 72.4% on time from 30,600 flights
- 4 PM: 67.5% on time from 19,485 flights
- 5 PM: 66.6% on time from 36,996 flights
- 6 PM: 65.7% on time from 19,288 flights
- 7 PM: 66.8% on time from 28,078 flights
- 8 PM: 69.3% on time from 22,666 flights
- 9 PM: 70.3% on time from 4,445 flights
- 10 PM: 68.4% on time from 22,360 flights
- 11 PM: too few flights to score
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026 · Buckets with fewer than 120 flights are not scored.
What parking will cost
Estimated from DCA's own published rates.
Estimated cost
Choose a facility and both dates to see an estimate.
Rates as published by the airport, last read 2026-08-31. Confirm before you travel.
Source: Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport · An estimate from published standard rates. Airports vary surcharges, oversize vehicle fees and event pricing, so confirm the price with the airport before you travel.
What to expect at DCA
How busy the airport is through the day, from scheduled departure volume.
Scheduled departures by hour
- 12 AM: no departures
- 1 AM: no departures
- 2 AM: no departures
- 3 AM: no departures
- 4 AM: no departures
- 5 AM: about 3 departures a day
- 6 AM: about 28 departures a day
- 7 AM: about 20 departures a day
- 8 AM: about 37 departures a day
- 9 AM: about 15 departures a day
- 10 AM: about 29 departures a day
- 11 AM: about 23 departures a day
- 12 PM: about 21 departures a day
- 1 PM: about 25 departures a day
- 2 PM: about 23 departures a day
- 3 PM: about 27 departures a day
- 4 PM: about 17 departures a day
- 5 PM: about 33 departures a day
- 6 PM: about 17 departures a day
- 7 PM: about 25 departures a day
- 8 PM: about 20 departures a day
- 9 PM: about 4 departures a day
- 10 PM: about 20 departures a day
- 11 PM: fewer than one departure a day
The busiest hour is 8 AM, with about 37 departures a day, against roughly 4 at 9 PM. That peak is also more punctual than a typical hour here: early banks fly aircraft that spent the night on the ground rather than ones inheriting the day’s delays.
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026 · Taxi-out runs from gate to wheels-up, averaged over departures and weighted by hour. Taxi-in runs from touchdown to gate.
Weekly and seasonal patterns
By day of week
Saturday is historically the most reliable day and Friday the least, a gap of 7.7 percentage points.
By month
- Jan: 76.2% on time
- Feb: 75.0% on time
- Mar: 77.0% on time
- Apr: 78.3% on time
- May: 72.8% on time
- Jun: 72.2% on time
- Jul: 67.4% on time
- Aug: 76.8% on time
- Sep: 81.8% on time
- Oct: 84.1% on time
- Nov: 82.6% on time
- Dec: 76.3% on time
July is historically the weakest month and October the strongest, a spread of 16.7 percentage points.
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026
Airlines at DCA
Departure performance by operating carrier. Regional flights are reported by the carrier that operated them, not by the mainline brand.
| Carrier | Departures | On time | Cancelled | Median delay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA Airlines OH | 120,762 | 71.5% | 4.65% | -5 min |
| American Airlines AA | 84,728 | 76.6% | 2.18% | -8 min |
| Republic Airways YX | 81,909 | 81.4% | 3.19% | -9 min |
| Southwest Airlines WN | 49,218 | 76.7% | 1.57% | -4 min |
| Delta Air Lines DL | 28,228 | 80.7% | 1.79% | -9 min |
| JetBlue B6 | 23,467 | 73.4% | 2.48% | -6 min |
| United Airlines UA | 20,004 | 80.5% | 1.65% | -8 min |
| Envoy Air MQ | 13,811 | 77.8% | 2.84% | -6 min |
| Alaska Airlines AS | 6,114 | 76.8% | 0.92% | -6 min |
| Frontier Airlines F9 | 3,240 | 79.9% | 1.36% | -10 min |
| Endeavor Air 9E | 3,073 | 81.6% | 1.72% | -12 min |
| SkyWest Airlines OO | 522 | 78.5% | 3.45% | -10 min |
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026 · Carriers with fewer than 500 departures are not listed.
Routes from DCA
Ranked by FlyerIntel Route Reliability Score.
Most reliable
Busiest routes
| Destination | Flights | On time | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| DCA → BOS Boston | 28,569 | 76.0% | 47 |
| DCA → ATL Atlanta | 21,172 | 80.1% | 59 |
| DCA → ORD Chicago | 20,170 | 79.0% | 55 |
| DCA → MCO Orlando | 14,633 | 77.1% | 54 |
| DCA → LGA New York | 14,236 | 74.0% | 40 |
| DCA → BNA Nashville | 12,844 | 78.9% | 59 |
| DCA → MIA Miami | 11,971 | 77.2% | 55 |
| DCA → DFW Dallas–Fort Worth | 10,255 | 78.8% | 55 |
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026 · Only routes with at least 10,000 flights are ranked.
Reliability over time
On-time arrival rate for departures, by month.
- July 2023: 69.6% on time from 11,566 flights
- August 2023: 80.1% on time from 11,912 flights
- September 2023: 82.4% on time from 11,513 flights
- October 2023: 87.2% on time from 12,110 flights
- November 2023: 88.2% on time from 11,353 flights
- December 2023: 85.5% on time from 11,014 flights
- January 2024: 76.8% on time from 11,486 flights
- February 2024: 87.4% on time from 11,298 flights
- March 2024: 83.3% on time from 11,970 flights
- April 2024: 80.2% on time from 11,546 flights
- May 2024: 72.6% on time from 11,965 flights
- June 2024: 78.8% on time from 11,457 flights
- July 2024: 69.5% on time from 11,948 flights
- August 2024: 73.5% on time from 11,874 flights
- September 2024: 85.3% on time from 11,546 flights
- October 2024: 88.2% on time from 12,035 flights
- November 2024: 86.8% on time from 11,545 flights
- December 2024: 76.6% on time from 11,346 flights
- January 2025: 76.7% on time from 11,734 flights
- February 2025: 65.4% on time from 10,981 flights
- March 2025: 77.3% on time from 12,336 flights
- April 2025: 77.8% on time from 12,034 flights
- May 2025: 70.9% on time from 12,252 flights
- June 2025: 66.2% on time from 11,890 flights
- July 2025: 67.0% on time from 12,192 flights
- August 2025: 76.8% on time from 12,098 flights
- September 2025: 77.9% on time from 11,822 flights
- October 2025: 76.9% on time from 12,273 flights
- November 2025: 72.7% on time from 11,586 flights
- December 2025: 66.8% on time from 11,308 flights
- January 2026: 75.1% on time from 11,858 flights
- February 2026: 71.1% on time from 10,996 flights
- March 2026: 70.2% on time from 12,204 flights
- April 2026: 77.0% on time from 11,802 flights
- May 2026: 74.8% on time from 12,158 flights
- June 2026: 71.6% on time from 11,953 flights
- July 2026: 63.2% on time from 12,115 flights
Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), departures from DCA arrived on time 72.9% of the time, against 76.0% in the 12 months before — declining by 3.1 percentage points.
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026
Data and sources
Historical statistics
Every historical figure on this page is calculated by FlyerIntel from US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics on-time performance records covering July 2023 – July 2026, comprising 435,076 departures from DCA. A flight counts as delayed when it arrives 15 or more minutes after schedule.
Full methodology · All data sources
Related research: Where a Late Aircraft Gets Its Time Back · The Day After the Holiday · The Least Reliable Hour of the Week · The Best Major Airports for a Tight Connection · Which Months Cancel the Most Flights
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<a href="https://flyerintel.com/airports/dca/"><img src="https://flyerintel.com/badge/airport/dca/" alt="Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on-time performance, from FlyerIntel"></a>Live conditions
Aviation weather comes from the NOAA Aviation Weather Center. Operational events come from the FAA where available. FlyerIntel shows the age of every live value and does not display data it cannot currently retrieve.
Latest observation for DCA: METAR KDCA 180852Z 02010KT 10SM CLR 07/M02 A3050 RMK AO2 SLP327 T00721017 51013 $ (issued ).