Route profile
BWI→BNA
Flight reliability, delays and best times to fly from Baltimore to Nashville, 587 miles.
Right now
Aviation weather is not currently a factor.
Aviation weather is not currently a factor.
Route reliability
July 2023 – July 2026
Better than 61% of comparable major US routes (4,598 compared)
Calculated from 5,936 flights. How this is calculated · What counts as on time
BWI → BNA arrives on time 78.9% of the time; the return trip, BNA → BWI, arrives on time 80.4% of the time.
BWI → BNA spends 20.9 minutes on the ground on a 587-mile trip: 14.3 minutes from pushback to wheels-up at BWI and 6.6 minutes from touchdown to gate at BNA.
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026
What stands out
Reliability here swings unusually widely by season, a wider month-to-month spread than 96% of 3,357 comparable routes.
91.1% on time in a typical February, against 64.4% in July.
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026 · Ranked against every other route with the same kind of figure and at least 3,357 in the comparison.
What sets this route apart
Where BWI to BNA differs most from similar routes by hour, weekday, month and airline, July 2023 – July 2026.
BWI to BNA struggles most at 10 PM: 51.4% of its flights scheduled then arrive on time, 17.2 points behind the 68.6% on routes of similar length at the same hour. Against all other routes the gap is 20.3 points.
BWI to BNA is at its best against routes of similar length for flights scheduled at 7 AM: 93.8% arrive on time, 5.8 points ahead of the 88.0% those routes manage at that hour. Against all other routes the gap is 6 points.
February is kinder to BWI to BNA than to routes of similar length: 91.1% on time against 81.8%, 9.3 points better. Against all other routes the gap is 9.7 points.
In July, BWI to BNA runs 5.3 points below routes of similar length, 64.4% on time to 69.7%. Against all other routes the gap is 5.3 points.
BWI to BNA against comparable routes
July 2023 – July 2026| Measure | This route | Compared with | Them | Gap | Flights behind it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hour: 10 PM departures | 51.4% | routes of similar length | 68.6% | −17.2 pts | 173 here, 48,797 there |
| Hour: 7 AM departures | 93.8% | routes of similar length | 88.0% | +5.8 pts | 225 here, 143,295 there |
| Month: February | 91.1% | routes of similar length | 81.8% | +9.3 pts | 370 here, 138,930 there |
| Month: July | 64.4% | routes of similar length | 69.7% | −5.3 pts | 665 here, 215,786 there |
Each comparison pools the flights of other routes, with this route’s own left out. Similar length means within 15% of this route’s 587 miles, with at least 5 such routes. A bucket is set against the most comparable group that has enough flights: similar length, then the same origin (at least 3 routes), then all other routes. Hours, weekdays and months appear only where both sides have 120 completed flights, and airlines where both have 600. The gap must be at least 2 points and 2 standard errors, and only the largest gap each way is kept per measure. These are differences in the flights counted, not causes.
Why BWI → BNA flights are cancelled
July 2023 – July 2026
BWI → BNA cancelled 73 of 5,936 scheduled flights — about 1 in every 81. The reason filed most often was extreme weather, 72.6% of the cancellations coded on this route — about 1 in every 112 scheduled flights.
Share of cancellations
Of 73 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.
53 cancellations, 72.6% of the total.
Crew, maintenance, aircraft cleaning, baggage or fueling: what BTS counts as within the carrier’s own control.
16 cancellations, 21.9% of the total.
Airport capacity, air traffic control flow programs, heavy traffic and ordinary bad weather. A system decision, not the airline’s.
4 cancellations, 5.5% of the total.
A terminal evacuation, a security breach, screening equipment failure, or screening queues over 29 minutes.
0 cancellations, 0.0% of the total.
Reason codes are the operating airline’s own filing with US DOT, not an independent finding of fault. With only one or two carriers on the route, the split mostly reflects how they file. Ordinary bad weather is filed under air traffic, so weather’s full share is larger than its bar.
73 coded cancellations were recorded on BWI → BNA; the section appears from 50.
When it goes wrong
July 2023 – July 2026
39 min late
against a median of 5 min early
Percentiles over 5,936 operations; cancelled and diverted flights are counted separately.
Will your connection be tight enough?
Layovers at BNA after arriving from BWI.
| Connection time | Chance of missing | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 30 min | 39% | Likely to miss |
| 45 min | 20% | High risk |
| 60 min | 12% | Some risk |
| 90 min | 5.8% | Some risk |
| 120 min | 3.1% | Low risk |
This is one leg of a connection. Gate changes and the next flight's own schedule matter too. And a connection can fail before delay is even the question — this route cancels 1.23% of the time and diverts 0.13% of the time, which a late arrival never shows up in.
Chance of missing is the share of 5,855 arrivals on this route that landed later than the connection time less 30 minutes to reach the next gate.
The worst tenth of arrivals on this route land at least 39 minutes late (90th-percentile gate arrival delay), over 5,936 operations.
Any other layover length: connection checker.
Best time to fly
BWI → BNA flights departing 5–9 AM arrived on time 93.3% of the time, against 62.0% for 9 PM–5 AM departures, a gap of 31.3 percentage points.
By departure window
By departure hour
- 12 AM to 5 AM: too few flights to score
- 6 AM: 93.6% on time from 845 flights
- 7 AM: 93.8% on time from 226 flights
- 8 AM: 92.7% on time from 455 flights
- 9 AM: 88.6% on time from 509 flights
- 10 AM: 90.1% on time from 228 flights
- 11 AM: too few flights to score
- 12 PM: 82.4% on time from 218 flights
- 1 PM: 73.3% on time from 457 flights
- 2 PM: 72.8% on time from 327 flights
- 3 PM: 73.0% on time from 276 flights
- 4 PM: 72.2% on time from 293 flights
- 5 PM: 74.0% on time from 283 flights
- 6 PM: 68.8% on time from 519 flights
- 7 PM: 67.3% on time from 406 flights
- 8 PM: 68.8% on time from 258 flights
- 9 PM: 68.0% on time from 351 flights
- 10 PM: 51.4% on time from 177 flights
- 11 PM: too few flights to score
Why BWI → BNA runs late
July 2023 – July 2026
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 BWI → BNA. Only delays of 15 minutes or more are attributed. What the five causes mean
Late-arriving aircraft is the largest cause on BWI → BNA, at 40.4%: flights here mostly leave late because the plane came in late, and the day shows it: 5–9 AM departures arrived on time 93.3% of the time and 9 PM–5 AM departures 62.0%.
Airlines on this route
Carriers with at least 200 flights, by the airline that operated each one.
| Carrier | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Median delay | Severe |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines | 5,828 | 79.0% | 1.20% | -5 min | 5.8% |
Other ways to fly Washington to Nashville
Airport pairs in the same two city markets, as the DOT defines them.
| Route | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Median delay | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DCA→BNA Washington to Nashville | 12,844 | 78.9% | 2.51% | -7 min | 59 |
| BWI→BNA this route Baltimore to Nashville | 5,936 | 78.9% | 1.23% | -5 min | 70 |
BWI → BNA is the most reliable pairing for this journey at 78.9% on time, against 78.9% for DCA → BNA.
Flying to BNA from the Washington area? Compare BWI, DCA, IAD for BNA, with the same test for what counts as a real difference.
Weekly and seasonal patterns
By day of week
Wednesday is historically the most reliable day and Sunday the least, a gap of 5.8 percentage points.
By month
- Jan: 80.1%
- Feb: 91.1%
- Mar: 79.8%
- Apr: 82.7%
- May: 75.2%
- Jun: 71.4%
- Jul: 64.4%
- Aug: 79.7%
- Sep: 84.1%
- Oct: 83.5%
- Nov: 84.0%
- Dec: 78.9%
July is historically the weakest month and February the strongest, a spread of 26.7 percentage points.
Reliability over time
July 2023 – July 2026
- July 2023: 54.1% from 174 flights
- August 2023: 83.1% from 178 flights
- September 2023: 75.8% from 168 flights
- October 2023: 81.7% from 202 flights
- November 2023: 82.2% from 174 flights
- December 2023: 81.1% from 180 flights
- January 2024: 70.7% from 139 flights
- February 2024: 91.7% from 120 flights
- March 2024: 76.3% from 157 flights
- April 2024: 80.6% from 166 flights
- May 2024: 73.7% from 172 flights
- June 2024: 73.4% from 169 flights
- July 2024: 61.5% from 188 flights
- August 2024: 73.9% from 179 flights
- September 2024: 87.2% from 164 flights
- October 2024: 88.4% from 181 flights
- November 2024: 89.9% from 159 flights
- December 2024: 76.9% from 156 flights
- January 2025: 81.5% from 131 flights
- February 2025: 89.5% from 124 flights
- March 2025: 82.9% from 160 flights
- April 2025: 87.0% from 169 flights
- May 2025: 77.6% from 174 flights
- June 2025: 70.3% from 167 flights
- July 2025: 72.9% from 173 flights
- August 2025: 82.2% from 173 flights
- September 2025: 89.2% from 167 flights
- October 2025: 80.2% from 169 flights
- November 2025: 79.7% from 143 flights
- December 2025: 78.3% from 131 flights
- January 2026: 89.1% from 130 flights
- February 2026: 92.1% from 132 flights
- March 2026: 80.3% from 151 flights
- April 2026: 80.1% from 156 flights
- May 2026: 74.4% from 164 flights
- June 2026: 70.3% from 147 flights
- July 2026: 70.4% from 149 flights
Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), on-time arrivals averaged 80.4% against 81.3% in the 12 months before — broadly unchanged.
Data and methodology
Calculated by FlyerIntel from 5,936 BWI → BNA flight records from the US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, covering July 2023 – July 2026. Late means 15 or more minutes past scheduled arrival; cancelled and diverted flights are left out of on-time rates.
Full methodology · Data sources · Report a problem
Related research: How Long a Layover Needs to Be · Two Airlines on One Route · Best Time of Day to Fly From Major US Airports
Analysis last recomputed