According to PlainFlights' airport traffic ranking (BTS On-Time Performance total flights), Washington, DC (IAD) ranks #35 of 382 tracked US airports by total flights (most flights = #1). Washington, DC posts above-median on-time performance among the 382 tracked U.S. airports, as a high-volume U.S. airport.
Compare IAD to another hub, filter routes, or browse airline stats without leaving this profile.
IAD on-time rate vs. the national average
Ahead of the U.S. average across all 382 tracked airports.
Volume vs. on-time rate
Where Washington, DC sits on volume vs. on-time rate
Among the 382 U.S. airports in the BTS corpus, Washington, DC handles more flight
volume than 91% of them, and has a higher on-time rate than
57% of them, placing it in the quadrant for busy and reliable.
Flight volume and on-time rate are independent figures: a busy airport can still run
reliably, and a quiet one can still run late.
Washington, DC vs. a 29-airport national peer sample, volume percentile vs. on-time-rate percentile.
Total flights (2020-2025): 618,145 ·
On-time rate: 84.1%
Delay Cause Breakdown
Top delay cause: Carrier.
Total delay minutes3,982,149 min
Carrier1,509,264 min · 38%
Late Aircraft1,200,876 min · 30%
NAS (National Aviation System)890,400 min · 22%
Weather378,850 min · 10%
Security2,759 min · 0%
Source: U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, On-Time Performance
IAD - seasonal on-time pattern
Best: November (94.3%) · worst: July (87.9%)
IAD - on-time rate by year
2020–2025, year-over-year trend.
IAD - taxi-out and taxi-in (monthly)
Average taxi-out 21.2 min · taxi-in 7.4 min over the last 24 reported months (U.S. airport mean taxi-out ≈ 16.4 min).
IAD's average taxi-out (21.2 min) runs longer than the recent U.S. airport mean (~16.4 min). The heaviest month in this window is May 2025 at 25.0 min; the lightest is March 2024 at 18.5 min.
Two PlainFlights-derived comparison paths for Washington, DC, both outside Virginia so the neighborhoods are not same-state geography. Axes stay disjoint: volume peers exclude the on-time peer set. Same-state compare stays below.
The standout signal at Washington, DC is traffic scale: 618,145 BTS flights (2020–2025) place it #35 of 382 by book size. That busy-book footprint sits beside a 84.1% on-time rate (5.1 pts above the 79% national flight-weighted average), 98,139 delayed departures, and 6,473 cancellations (1.05% of the book).
Delay minutes concentrate in Carrier (30.2% late-aircraft, 37.9% carrier, 22.4% NAS, 9.5% weather, 0.1% security). As a busy airport, that mix matters more for connection planning than for a thin schedule.
On the multi-year calendar, IAD is strongest in November (94.3% on-time) and weakest in July (87.9%), a 6.4-point swing. Volume peaks in August (~9,390 flights/month). The busiest connecting route is to ATL (Atlanta) at 84.2% on-time. Field definitions: on-time performance explained.
Washington, DC vs. the national on-time distribution
On-time rate among all 382 tracked U.S. airports
84.1%Top 43%higher than 57% of 382 airports
Washington, DC
60%95%
U.S. airports by on-time rate, bucketed by value
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more airports. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Data Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), On-Time Performance Data (2020–2025).
Statistics reflect cumulative performance across all available reporting periods. On-time rates exclude cancelled and diverted flights.
IAD's on-time book is mid-pack; month and delay-cause mix move more than the headline rate.
Check the busiest route from IAD before you book a connection. See top routes →
Travel in November rather than July if your dates are flexible. Seasonal patterns →
Build extra connection buffer when taxi-out spikes. May 2025 averaged 25.0 min. Taxi times →
On-time rate reflects the BTS historical average across all reporting carriers at this airport, not any single flight or airline.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Washington, DC's on-time rate?
Washington, DC (IAD) has a 84.1% on-time rate across 618,145 BTS-tracked flights (2020-2025), 5.1 pts above the 79% national flight-weighted average; that places it in roughly the above-median on-time performance.
How does IAD rank among U.S. airports by traffic volume?
Washington, DC ranks #35 of 382 tracked US airports by total BTS flights (most flights = #1), making it a high-volume U.S. airport.
What's the most common cause of delays at Washington, DC?
Carrier is the leading delay cause at IAD, accounting for 37.9% of delay minutes. The full breakdown: 30.2% late-aircraft, 37.9% carrier, 22.4% NAS/air-traffic-control, 9.5% weather, and 0.1% security.
When is the best time to fly through Washington, DC?
November is historically IAD's strongest month at 94.3% on-time, while July is the weakest at 87.9%, a 6.4-point swing across the BTS historical record.