Route profile
DCA→CMH
Flight reliability, delays and best times to fly from Washington to Columbus, 323 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 38% of comparable major US routes (4,598 compared)
Calculated from 6,110 flights. How this is calculated · What counts as on time
DCA → CMH arrives on time 80.0% of the time; the return trip, CMH → DCA, arrives on time 76.8% of the time, a 3.2-point gap between the two directions of the same city pair.
DCA → CMH spends 30.1 minutes on the ground on a 323-mile trip: 21.7 minutes from pushback to wheels-up at DCA and 8.4 minutes from touchdown to gate at CMH.
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026
What sets this route apart
Where DCA to CMH differs most from similar routes by hour, weekday, month and airline, July 2023 – July 2026.
DCA to CMH struggles most at 11 AM: 72.7% of its flights scheduled then arrive on time, 11.2 points behind the 83.9% on routes of similar length at the same hour. Against all other routes the gap is 8.3 points.
DCA to CMH is at its best against routes of similar length for flights scheduled at 3 PM: 82.2% arrive on time, 6.5 points ahead of the 75.7% those routes manage at that hour. Against all other routes the gap is 9.5 points.
October is kinder to DCA to CMH than to routes of similar length: 87.8% on time against 82.9%, 4.9 points better. Against all other routes the gap is 4.8 points.
In January, DCA to CMH runs 4 points below routes of similar length, 77.9% on time to 81.9%.
PSA Airlines’ flights on DCA to CMH arrive on time 68.5% of the time, 6.5 points below the 75.0% it manages on its routes of similar length. Against all other routes the gap is 7.3 points.
DCA to CMH against comparable routes
July 2023 – July 2026| Measure | This route | Compared with | Them | Gap | Flights behind it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hour: 11 AM departures | 72.7% | routes of similar length | 83.9% | −11.2 pts | 121 here, 64,356 there |
| Hour: 3 PM departures | 82.2% | routes of similar length | 75.7% | +6.5 pts | 444 here, 64,109 there |
| Month: October | 87.8% | routes of similar length | 82.9% | +4.9 pts | 518 here, 95,665 there |
| Month: January | 77.9% | routes of similar length | 81.9% | −4.0 pts | 466 here, 78,070 there |
| Airline: PSA Airlines | 68.5% | routes of similar length | 75.0% | −6.5 pts | 951 here, 48,667 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 323 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.
DCA to CMH in context
This route against DCA and CMH as a whole, against similar routes from DCA, and against its own first year, July 2023 – July 2026.
Leaving DCA, DCA to CMH is on time 80.0% of the time, 3.5 points better than the airport’s other departures at DCA (76.5%, from 415,182 flights).
DCA to CMH cancels 2.60% of its scheduled flights, 1.07 points below the 3.67% on 5 other routes from DCA of similar length (within 15% of 323 miles).
DCA to CMH arrived on time 77.8% of the time in its latest twelve months (August 2025 to July 2026), 6.3 points below the 84.1% of its first twelve (July 2023 to June 2024).
Cancellations rose from 1.00% of scheduled flights (19 of 1,900) in the first twelve months to 3.12% (64 of 2,052) in the latest twelve.
Of the 5,874 flights scheduled in hours with at least 120 flights, 1 PM is the busiest hour with 1,110 (18.9%), 82.8% of them on time, and 11 AM the quietest with 121 (2.1%), 72.7% 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 DCA → CMH flights are cancelled
July 2023 – July 2026
DCA → CMH cancelled 159 of 6,110 scheduled flights — about 1 in every 38. The reason filed most often was extreme weather, 58.5% of the cancellations coded on this route — about 1 in every 66 scheduled flights.
Share of cancellations
Of 159 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.
93 cancellations, 58.5% of the total.
Airport capacity, air traffic control flow programs, heavy traffic and ordinary bad weather. A system decision, not the airline’s.
46 cancellations, 28.9% of the total.
Crew, maintenance, aircraft cleaning, baggage or fueling: what BTS counts as within the carrier’s own control.
20 cancellations, 12.6% 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.
159 coded cancellations were recorded on DCA → CMH; the section appears from 50.
When it goes wrong
July 2023 – July 2026
42 min late
against a median of 7 min early
Percentiles over 6,110 operations; cancelled and diverted flights are counted separately.
Will your connection be tight enough?
Layovers at CMH after arriving from DCA.
| Connection time | Chance of missing | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 30 min | 35% | Likely to miss |
| 45 min | 19% | High risk |
| 60 min | 13% | Some risk |
| 90 min | 6.9% | Some risk |
| 120 min | 4.4% | 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 2.60% of the time and diverts 0.05% of the time, which a late arrival never shows up in.
Chance of missing is the share of 5,948 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 42 minutes late (90th-percentile gate arrival delay), over 6,110 operations.
Any other layover length: connection checker.
Best time to fly
DCA → CMH flights departing 9 AM–12 PM arrived on time 88.1% of the time, against 71.5% for 9 PM–5 AM departures, a gap of 16.6 percentage points.
By departure window
By departure hour
- 12 AM to 6 AM: too few flights to score
- 7 AM: 88.0% on time from 301 flights
- 8 AM: 79.7% on time from 310 flights
- 9 AM: too few flights to score
- 10 AM: 89.8% on time from 1,101 flights
- 11 AM: 72.7% on time from 121 flights
- 12 PM: 80.5% on time from 450 flights
- 1 PM: 82.8% on time from 1,110 flights
- 2 PM: 73.0% on time from 310 flights
- 3 PM: 82.2% on time from 453 flights
- 4 PM: 71.1% on time from 627 flights
- 5 PM to 6 PM: too few flights to score
- 7 PM: 74.4% on time from 378 flights
- 8 PM: 75.6% on time from 317 flights
- 9 PM: too few flights to score
- 10 PM: 71.3% on time from 396 flights
- 11 PM: too few flights to score
Why DCA → CMH 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 DCA → CMH. Only delays of 15 minutes or more are attributed. What the five causes mean
Late-arriving aircraft is the largest cause on DCA → CMH, at 56.8%: flights here mostly leave late because the plane came in late, and the day shows it: 9 AM–12 PM departures arrived on time 88.1% of the time and 9 PM–5 AM departures 71.5%.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republic Airways | 2,767 | 85.3% | 1.66% | -10 min | 5.1% |
| Envoy Air | 1,252 | 76.2% | 3.75% | -6 min | 8.5% |
| Southwest Airlines | 1,082 | 81.0% | 0.74% | -4 min | 5.7% |
| PSA Airlines | 1,009 | 68.5% | 5.75% | -1 min | 12.2% |
Republic Airways flew 45.3% of the 6,110 flights listed. PSA Airlines cancelled 5.75% of its flights here against 0.74% for Southwest Airlines.
Republic Airways arrived on time 16.8 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 Thursday the least, a gap of 4.9 percentage points.
By month
- Jan: 77.9%
- Feb: 80.9%
- Mar: 82.7%
- Apr: 79.9%
- May: 78.2%
- Jun: 73.3%
- Jul: 71.8%
- Aug: 81.2%
- Sep: 87.2%
- Oct: 87.8%
- Nov: 84.0%
- Dec: 76.5%
July is historically the weakest month and October the strongest, a spread of 16.0 percentage points.
Reliability over time
July 2023 – July 2026
- July 2023: 73.2% from 169 flights
- August 2023: 85.1% from 171 flights
- September 2023: 81.5% from 164 flights
- October 2023: 86.8% from 174 flights
- November 2023: 91.2% from 159 flights
- December 2023: 83.1% from 142 flights
- January 2024: 80.0% from 161 flights
- February 2024: 92.1% from 151 flights
- March 2024: 88.4% from 146 flights
- April 2024: 84.4% from 149 flights
- May 2024: 76.3% from 157 flights
- June 2024: 87.9% from 157 flights
- July 2024: 73.1% from 147 flights
- August 2024: 82.9% from 145 flights
- September 2024: 91.1% from 169 flights
- October 2024: 95.3% from 173 flights
- November 2024: 87.4% from 167 flights
- December 2024: 80.5% from 151 flights
- January 2025: 75.6% from 166 flights
- February 2025: 77.1% from 156 flights
- March 2025: 83.4% from 179 flights
- April 2025: 71.9% from 173 flights
- May 2025: 70.6% from 176 flights
- June 2025: 57.8% from 176 flights
- July 2025: 70.4% from 180 flights
- August 2025: 76.3% from 181 flights
- September 2025: 88.8% from 171 flights
- October 2025: 81.5% from 173 flights
- November 2025: 73.1% from 166 flights
- December 2025: 65.7% from 149 flights
- January 2026: 78.1% from 168 flights
- February 2026: 73.5% from 163 flights
- March 2026: 77.1% from 182 flights
- April 2026: 84.0% from 169 flights
- May 2026: 87.4% from 178 flights
- June 2026: 75.0% from 176 flights
- July 2026: 70.6% from 176 flights
Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), on-time arrivals averaged 77.7% against 78.5% in the 12 months before — broadly unchanged.
Data and methodology
Calculated by FlyerIntel from 6,110 DCA → CMH 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