Route profile
CHS→DCA
Flight reliability, delays and best times to fly from Charleston to Washington, 444 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 5% of comparable major US routes (4,598 compared)
Calculated from 5,515 flights. How this is calculated · What counts as on time
CHS → DCA arrives on time 76.0% of the time; the return trip, DCA → CHS, arrives on time 75.2% of the time.
CHS → DCA spends 27.9 minutes on the ground on a 444-mile trip: 19.2 minutes from pushback to wheels-up at CHS and 8.7 minutes from touchdown to gate at DCA.
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026
What sets this route apart
Where CHS to DCA differs most from similar routes by hour, weekday, month and airline, July 2023 – July 2026.
CHS to DCA struggles most at 2 PM: 68.4% of its flights scheduled then arrive on time, 7.6 points behind the 76.0% on routes of similar length at the same hour. Against all other routes the gap is 6.2 points.
Wednesday is the day CHS to DCA slips furthest against routes of similar length, 74.2% on time where they average 82.0%, 7.8 points lower. Against all other routes the gap is 6.6 points.
CHS to DCA holds up on Saturdays better than routes of similar length do: 83.9% on time to their 80.3%, a 3.6 points lead. Against all other routes the gap is 4.8 points.
In February, CHS to DCA runs 10.8 points below routes of similar length, 71.0% on time to 81.8%. Against all other routes the gap is 10.5 points.
PSA Airlines’ flights on CHS to DCA arrive on time 73.1% of the time, 3.9 points below the 77.0% it manages on its routes of similar length. Against all other routes the gap is 2.7 points.
CHS to DCA against comparable routes
July 2023 – July 2026| Measure | This route | Compared with | Them | Gap | Flights behind it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hour: 2 PM departures | 68.4% | routes of similar length | 76.0% | −7.6 pts | 803 here, 88,262 there |
| Weekday: Wednesday | 74.2% | routes of similar length | 82.0% | −7.8 pts | 776 here, 217,476 there |
| Weekday: Saturday | 83.9% | routes of similar length | 80.3% | +3.6 pts | 609 here, 183,721 there |
| Month: February | 71.0% | routes of similar length | 81.8% | −10.8 pts | 400 here, 108,903 there |
| Airline: PSA Airlines | 73.1% | routes of similar length | 77.0% | −3.9 pts | 2,640 here, 25,128 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 444 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.
CHS to DCA in context
This route against CHS and DCA as a whole, against similar routes from CHS, and against its own first year, July 2023 – July 2026.
Leaving CHS, CHS to DCA is on time 76.0% of the time, 4.9 points worse than the airport’s other departures at CHS (80.9%, from 70,302 flights).
CHS to DCA cancels 4.22% of its scheduled flights, 2.91 points above the 1.31% on 5 other routes from CHS of similar length (within 15% of 444 miles).
CHS to DCA arrived on time 72.5% of the time in its latest twelve months (August 2025 to July 2026), 7.7 points below the 80.2% of its first twelve (July 2023 to June 2024).
Cancellations rose from 1.74% of scheduled flights (30 of 1,720) in the first twelve months to 4.51% (79 of 1,751) in the latest twelve.
Of the 5,071 flights scheduled in hours with at least 120 flights, 7 PM is the busiest hour with 939 (18.5%), 62.7% of them on time, and 7 AM the quietest with 202 (4.0%), 89.9% of them on time.
Airport comparisons take this route’s flights out of the airport total. Length means within 15% of this route’s distance, with at least 3 other routes from the same origin. On-time gaps are stated at 2 points and 2 standard errors, cancellation gaps at 0.5 points and 2 standard errors, and every group needs 750 flights. These are differences in the flights counted, not causes.
Why CHS → DCA flights are cancelled
July 2023 – July 2026
CHS → DCA cancelled 233 of 5,515 scheduled flights — about 1 in every 24. The reason filed most often was extreme weather, 69.5% of the cancellations coded on this route — about 1 in every 34 scheduled flights.
Share of cancellations
Of 233 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.
162 cancellations, 69.5% of the total.
Crew, maintenance, aircraft cleaning, baggage or fueling: what BTS counts as within the carrier’s own control.
39 cancellations, 16.7% of the total.
Airport capacity, air traffic control flow programs, heavy traffic and ordinary bad weather. A system decision, not the airline’s.
32 cancellations, 13.7% 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. Ordinary bad weather is filed under air traffic, so weather’s full share is larger than its bar.
233 coded cancellations were recorded on CHS → DCA; the section appears from 50.
When it goes wrong
July 2023 – July 2026
61 min late
against a median of 6 min early
CHS → DCA has an average that understates its risk: a typical arrival is 6 min early, but the worst tenth are 67 minutes worse than that. If the trip has something unmissable at the end of it, the median is the wrong number to plan against.
Percentiles over 5,515 operations; cancelled and diverted flights are counted separately.
Will your connection be tight enough?
Layovers at DCA after arriving from CHS.
| Connection time | Chance of missing | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 30 min | 39% | Likely to miss |
| 45 min | 23% | High risk |
| 60 min | 17% | High risk |
| 90 min | 10% | Some risk |
| 120 min | 6.8% | Some 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 4.22% of the time and diverts 0.42% of the time, which a late arrival never shows up in.
Chance of missing is the share of 5,259 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 61 minutes late (90th-percentile gate arrival delay), over 5,515 operations.
Any other layover length: connection checker.
Best time to fly
CHS → DCA flights departing 5–9 AM arrived on time 90.8% of the time, against 64.4% for 6–9 PM departures, a gap of 26.4 percentage points.
By departure window
By departure hour
- 12 AM to 5 AM: too few flights to score
- 6 AM: 91.0% on time from 781 flights
- 7 AM: 89.9% on time from 202 flights
- 8 AM to 9 AM: too few flights to score
- 10 AM: 79.7% on time from 263 flights
- 11 AM: 84.6% on time from 859 flights
- 12 PM to 1 PM: too few flights to score
- 2 PM: 68.4% on time from 842 flights
- 3 PM: too few flights to score
- 4 PM: 73.6% on time from 274 flights
- 5 PM: 70.6% on time from 700 flights
- 6 PM: 72.0% on time from 211 flights
- 7 PM: 62.7% on time from 939 flights
- 8 PM to 11 PM: too few flights to score
Why CHS → DCA runs late
July 2023 – July 2026
the inbound aircraft was late, so this flight started late
airspace and airport capacity, including weather-driven flow control
crew, maintenance, boarding and fueling, all within the carrier’s 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 CHS → DCA. Only delays of 15 minutes or more are attributed. What the five causes mean
Late-arriving aircraft is the largest cause on CHS → DCA, at 48.3%: flights here mostly leave late because the plane came in late, and the day shows it: 5–9 AM departures arrived on time 90.8% of the time and 6–9 PM departures 64.4%.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA Airlines | 2,812 | 73.1% | 5.58% | -6 min | 12.5% |
| Republic Airways | 1,325 | 80.9% | 3.92% | -7 min | 5.9% |
| American Airlines | 1,274 | 76.3% | 1.81% | -6 min | 11.0% |
PSA Airlines flew 52.0% of the 5,411 flights listed. PSA Airlines cancelled 5.58% of its flights here against 1.81% for American Airlines.
Republic Airways arrived on time 7.8 percentage points more often than PSA Airlines on this route.
Weekly and seasonal patterns
By day of week
Saturday is historically the most reliable day and Friday the least, a gap of 12.2 percentage points.
By month
- Jan: 73.1%
- Feb: 71.0%
- Mar: 72.8%
- Apr: 77.3%
- May: 71.2%
- Jun: 75.0%
- Jul: 63.9%
- Aug: 77.8%
- Sep: 85.2%
- Oct: 85.4%
- Nov: 85.2%
- Dec: 77.4%
July is historically the weakest month and October the strongest, a spread of 21.5 percentage points.
Reliability over time
July 2023 – July 2026
- July 2023: 60.0% from 142 flights
- August 2023: 80.7% from 147 flights
- September 2023: 84.8% from 144 flights
- October 2023: 91.8% from 147 flights
- November 2023: 89.2% from 140 flights
- December 2023: 82.8% from 123 flights
- January 2024: 71.1% from 137 flights
- February 2024: 85.8% from 141 flights
- March 2024: 82.0% from 150 flights
- April 2024: 76.9% from 146 flights
- May 2024: 72.4% from 154 flights
- June 2024: 83.1% from 149 flights
- July 2024: 70.6% from 153 flights
- August 2024: 71.7% from 154 flights
- September 2024: 90.3% from 147 flights
- October 2024: 86.7% from 150 flights
- November 2024: 93.5% from 140 flights
- December 2024: 84.1% from 143 flights
- January 2025: 78.5% from 166 flights
- February 2025: 62.9% from 160 flights
- March 2025: 68.6% from 176 flights
- April 2025: 77.6% from 176 flights
- May 2025: 66.7% from 180 flights
- June 2025: 67.1% from 149 flights
- July 2025: 63.2% from 150 flights
- August 2025: 81.1% from 149 flights
- September 2025: 80.7% from 146 flights
- October 2025: 77.9% from 151 flights
- November 2025: 72.6% from 143 flights
- December 2025: 65.9% from 143 flights
- January 2026: 69.5% from 143 flights
- February 2026: 63.0% from 133 flights
- March 2026: 67.9% from 152 flights
- April 2026: 77.2% from 148 flights
- May 2026: 75.3% from 151 flights
- June 2026: 74.3% from 146 flights
- July 2026: 61.2% from 146 flights
Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), on-time arrivals averaged 72.3% against 75.5% in the 12 months before — declining by 3.2 percentage points.
Data and methodology
Calculated by FlyerIntel from 5,515 CHS → DCA 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