Washington, DC · Airport profile
DCA
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
DCA right now
Current operating conditions, from live sources only.
Aviation weather is not currently a factor. FAA operational data — ground stops, ground delay programs and closures — is not currently available to FlyerIntel.
FAA operational data is not currently available to FlyerIntel. Why
Minimal operational impact. Conditions are not a notable factor for operations right now.
Forecast issued 23:20Z.
UpdatedSecurity wait data is not currently available for DCA. Why
Parking data is not currently available for DCA. Why
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 – June 2026.
Better than 4% of major US airports covered by FlyerIntel (58 compared)
Calculated from 422,961 flights. How this is calculated
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – June 2026
Best time to fly from DCA
On-time arrival rate by scheduled local departure time.
Flights departing 5–9 AM arrived on time 87.2% of the time, against 67.8% for 6–9 PM departures — a gap of 19.3 percentage points.
By departure window
By departure hour
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – June 2026 · Buckets with fewer than 120 flights are not scored.
What to expect at DCA
How busy the airport is through the day, from scheduled departure volume.
Scheduled departures by hour
The busiest hour is 8 AM, with about 37 departures a day, against roughly 4 at 9 PM. Counterintuitively, that peak is also more punctual than a typical hour here — early banks fly aircraft that have been on the ground overnight rather than ones inheriting the day’s delays.
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – June 2026 · Taxi-out is the time between leaving the gate and lifting off, averaged across departures and weighted by hour.
Weekly and seasonal patterns
By day of week
Saturday is historically the most reliable day and Friday the least, a gap of 7.5 percentage points.
By month
July is historically the weakest month and October the strongest, a spread of 15.3 percentage points.
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – June 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 | 117,207 | 72.0% | 4.46% | -5 min |
| American Airlines AA | 82,534 | 76.8% | 2.09% | -8 min |
| Republic Airways YX | 79,654 | 81.7% | 3.01% | -9 min |
| Southwest Airlines WN | 47,871 | 77.3% | 1.45% | -4 min |
| Delta Air Lines DL | 27,386 | 81.2% | 1.71% | -10 min |
| JetBlue B6 | 22,895 | 73.8% | 2.22% | -7 min |
| United Airlines UA | 19,369 | 80.6% | 1.60% | -8 min |
| Envoy Air MQ | 13,386 | 78.1% | 2.77% | -6 min |
| Alaska Airlines AS | 5,931 | 76.9% | 0.89% | -6 min |
| Frontier Airlines F9 | 3,160 | 80.1% | 1.36% | -10 min |
| Endeavor Air 9E | 3,073 | 81.6% | 1.72% | -12 min |
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – June 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 | 27,810 | 76.3% | 49 |
| DCA → ATL Atlanta | 20,602 | 80.6% | 61 |
| DCA → ORD Chicago | 19,524 | 79.2% | 56 |
| DCA → MCO Orlando | 14,247 | 77.4% | 55 |
| DCA → LGA New York | 13,818 | 74.3% | 41 |
| DCA → BNA Nashville | 12,474 | 79.3% | 60 |
| DCA → MIA Miami | 11,643 | 77.3% | 56 |
| DCA → DFW Dallas–Fort Worth | 9,985 | 78.8% | 55 |
| DCA → CLT Charlotte | 9,152 | 78.1% | 55 |
| DCA → DTW Detroit | 8,411 | 79.1% | 55 |
| DCA → IAH Houston | 7,555 | 82.3% | 65 |
| DCA → PVD Providence/Warwick | 7,535 | 77.3% | 52 |
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – June 2026 · Only routes with at least 750 flights are ranked.
Reliability over time
On-time arrival rate for departures, by month.
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – June 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 – June 2026, comprising 422,961 departures from DCA. A flight counts as delayed when it arrives 15 or more minutes after schedule.
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 292352Z 15007KT 10SM FEW070 FEW250 26/16 A3018 RMK AO2 SLP219 T02560161 10294 20256 53001 $ (issued ).