Washington, DC

What the Data Says About DCA

Washington, DC in Washington, Virginia handled 1,425,060 flights in the Bureau of Transportation Statistics dataset between 2020 and 2025, posting a 80.8% on-time departure rate. Of those flights, 274,313 experienced delays, 21,697 were cancelled, and 1,652 were diverted. The cancellation rate works out to 1.52%, the diversion rate to 0.12%, and the average delay when departures run late is 79.6 minutes. These figures are the baseline for comparing DCA against other airports in the same state and nationally.

Breaking down what drives delays at DCA, Late Aircraft leads the pack. Late Aircraft accounts for 46.4% of total delay minutes, followed by Carrier at 28.7% and NAS (National Aviation System) at 19.7%. Weather contributes 5.0% of delay minutes at this airport, while security holds the smallest share at 0.2%. Travelers often overestimate the weather share; the BTS categorization shows late-arriving aircraft and carrier operations as the larger contributors.

Seasonally, October runs the cleanest at DCA with a 92.7% on-time rate, while July is the roughest at 87.5% — a 5-point swing between best and worst month. Volume peaks in March, when average flights hit 21,453. The busiest route from DCA is to DCA (Washington), with 49,205 flights at a 81.6% on-time rate. Combine these numbers — 80.8% on-time, 79.6-minute average delay, 1.52% cancellation rate — and you have a concrete picture of departure reliability at Washington, DC.