Route profile
DCA→FLL
Flight reliability, delays and best times to fly from Washington to Fort Lauderdale, 899 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 13% of comparable major US routes (4,598 compared)
Calculated from 7,311 flights. How this is calculated
DCA → FLL arrives on time 73.1% of the time; the return trip, FLL → DCA, arrives on time 71.4% of the time.
DCA → FLL spends 24.7 minutes on the ground on an 899-mile trip: 19.0 minutes from pushback to wheels-up at DCA and 5.7 minutes from touchdown to gate at FLL.
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026
What stands out
This route's worst arrivals run unusually far past its typical one, a bigger gap than 91% of 4,598 comparable routes.
A typical arrival is 4 min early, but the worst tenth run 72 minutes worse than that.
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 4,598 in the comparison.
What sets this route apart
Where DCA to FLL differs most from similar routes by hour, weekday, month and airline, July 2023 – July 2026.
DCA to FLL struggles most at 4 PM: 55.5% of its flights scheduled then arrive on time, 13 points behind the 68.5% on routes of similar length at the same hour. Against all other routes the gap is 15.2 points.
Thursday is the day DCA to FLL slips furthest against routes of similar length, 69.6% on time where they average 76.5%, 6.9 points lower. Against all other routes the gap is 7.2 points.
In December, DCA to FLL runs 8.9 points below routes of similar length, 69.7% on time to 78.6%. Against all other routes the gap is 9.1 points.
American Airlines does better on DCA to FLL than on its routes of similar length: 78.1% on time here, 73.9% there, 4.2 points apart. Against all other routes the gap is 3 points.
DCA to FLL against comparable routes
July 2023 – July 2026| Measure | This route | Compared with | Them | Gap | Flights behind it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hour: 4 PM departures | 55.5% | routes of similar length | 68.5% | −13.0 pts | 310 here, 145,730 there |
| Weekday: Thursday | 69.6% | routes of similar length | 76.5% | −6.9 pts | 1,028 here, 404,040 there |
| Month: December | 69.7% | routes of similar length | 78.6% | −8.9 pts | 674 here, 226,706 there |
| Airline: American Airlines | 78.1% | routes of similar length | 73.9% | +4.2 pts | 1,358 here, 452,669 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 899 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 DCA → FLL flights are cancelled
July 2023 – July 2026
DCA → FLL cancelled 136 of 7,311 scheduled flights — about 1 in every 54. The reason filed most often was extreme weather, 45.6% of the cancellations coded on this route — about 1 in every 118 scheduled flights.
Share of cancellations
Of 136 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.
62 cancellations, 45.6% of the total.
Airport capacity, air traffic control flow programs, heavy traffic and ordinary bad weather. A system decision, not the airline’s.
44 cancellations, 32.4% of the total.
Crew, maintenance, aircraft cleaning, baggage or fueling: what BTS counts as within the carrier’s own control.
30 cancellations, 22.1% 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.
136 coded cancellations were recorded on DCA → FLL; the section appears from 50.
When it goes wrong
July 2023 – July 2026
68 min late
against a median of 4 min early
DCA → FLL has an average that understates its risk: a typical arrival is 4 min early, but the worst tenth are 72 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 7,311 operations; cancelled and diverted flights are counted separately.
Will your connection be tight enough?
Layovers at FLL after arriving from DCA.
| Connection time | Chance of missing | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 30 min | 42% | Likely to miss |
| 45 min | 26% | High risk |
| 60 min | 18% | High risk |
| 90 min | 11% | Some risk |
| 120 min | 7.3% | 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 1.86% of the time and diverts 0.40% of the time, which a late arrival never shows up in.
Chance of missing is the share of 7,146 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 68 minutes late (90th-percentile gate arrival delay), over 7,311 operations.
Any other layover length: connection checker.
Best time to fly
DCA → FLL flights departing 5–9 AM arrived on time 85.7% of the time, against 59.0% for 6–9 PM departures, a gap of 26.7 percentage points.
By departure window
By departure hour
- 12 AM to 5 AM: too few flights to score
- 6 AM: 89.5% on time from 836 flights
- 7 AM: 83.0% on time from 646 flights
- 8 AM: 80.8% on time from 292 flights
- 9 AM: 80.8% on time from 575 flights
- 10 AM: 79.8% on time from 767 flights
- 11 AM: 76.9% on time from 536 flights
- 12 PM: 72.3% on time from 358 flights
- 1 PM: 70.5% on time from 341 flights
- 2 PM: 69.5% on time from 378 flights
- 3 PM: 66.0% on time from 830 flights
- 4 PM: 55.5% on time from 316 flights
- 5 PM: 60.4% on time from 278 flights
- 6 PM: 59.6% on time from 706 flights
- 7 PM: too few flights to score
- 8 PM: 57.6% on time from 330 flights
- 9 PM to 11 PM: too few flights to score
Departure windows with fewer than 120 flights are not scored.
Why DCA → FLL 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 → FLL. Only delays of 15 minutes or more are attributed.
Late-arriving aircraft is the largest cause on DCA → FLL, at 48.7%: flights here mostly leave late because the plane came in late, and the day shows it: 5–9 AM departures arrived on time 85.7% of the time and 6–9 PM departures 59.0%.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JetBlue | 4,587 | 70.8% | 2.22% | -3 min | 12.9% |
| American Airlines | 1,381 | 78.1% | 1.38% | -9 min | 8.2% |
| Southwest Airlines | 1,343 | 75.6% | 1.12% | -4 min | 7.4% |
JetBlue flew 62.7% of the 7,311 flights listed. JetBlue cancelled 2.22% of its flights here against 1.12% for Southwest Airlines.
American Airlines arrived on time 7.3 percentage points more often than JetBlue on this route.
Other ways to fly Washington to Miami
Airport pairs in the same two city markets, as the DOT defines them.
BWI → FLL is the most reliable pairing for this journey at 75.0% on time, against 73.1% for DCA → FLL.
Flying to FLL from the Washington area? Compare DCA, BWI, IAD for FLL, with the same test for what counts as a real difference.
Flights on this route
Flight numbers with at least 600 operations here and still on the schedule.
B6379 (7:00 AM) arrived on time 80.6% of the time, 22.6 points more often than B61979 (6:59 PM) at 58.0%.
Weekly and seasonal patterns
By day of week
Tuesday is historically the most reliable day and Sunday the least, a gap of 8.8 percentage points.
By month
- Jan: 73.0%
- Feb: 74.4%
- Mar: 72.0%
- Apr: 79.5%
- May: 74.3%
- Jun: 70.4%
- Jul: 63.1%
- Aug: 67.7%
- Sep: 76.8%
- Oct: 80.8%
- Nov: 78.2%
- Dec: 69.7%
July is historically the weakest month and October the strongest, a spread of 17.7 percentage points.
Reliability over time
July 2023 – July 2026
- July 2023: 57.8% from 209 flights
- August 2023: 70.5% from 200 flights
- September 2023: 78.6% from 193 flights
- October 2023: 85.5% from 201 flights
- November 2023: 81.0% from 210 flights
- December 2023: 72.5% from 229 flights
- January 2024: 74.6% from 247 flights
- February 2024: 84.6% from 243 flights
- March 2024: 67.7% from 266 flights
- April 2024: 79.5% from 220 flights
- May 2024: 75.6% from 165 flights
- June 2024: 74.1% from 174 flights
- July 2024: 69.1% from 194 flights
- August 2024: 61.2% from 189 flights
- September 2024: 76.4% from 144 flights
- October 2024: 82.9% from 162 flights
- November 2024: 89.3% from 197 flights
- December 2024: 77.1% from 214 flights
- January 2025: 78.5% from 206 flights
- February 2025: 70.7% from 191 flights
- March 2025: 81.1% from 217 flights
- April 2025: 89.5% from 210 flights
- May 2025: 73.7% from 179 flights
- June 2025: 65.5% from 168 flights
- July 2025: 65.7% from 176 flights
- August 2025: 71.3% from 173 flights
- September 2025: 75.0% from 145 flights
- October 2025: 74.1% from 186 flights
- November 2025: 64.1% from 200 flights
- December 2025: 60.2% from 233 flights
- January 2026: 66.2% from 222 flights
- February 2026: 64.9% from 190 flights
- March 2026: 68.0% from 211 flights
- April 2026: 69.0% from 201 flights
- May 2026: 73.7% from 195 flights
- June 2026: 71.7% from 170 flights
- July 2026: 59.8% from 181 flights
Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), on-time arrivals averaged 67.8% against 76.3% in the 12 months before — declining by 8.5 percentage points.
Data and methodology
Calculated by FlyerIntel from 7,311 DCA → FLL 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