DSM vs DCA - Airport Comparison
Select two airports to compare on-time performance, delays, cancellations, and top routes using U.S. Department of Transportation Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) data (2020–2025) across all 50 states. See our methodology for how metrics are computed.
Key Performance Metrics
BTS on-time performance data, 2020–2025 cumulative.
| Metric | DSM | DCA |
|---|---|---|
| On-Time Rate (higher is better) | 82.6% ✓ | 80.8% |
| Avg Delay (lower is better) | 82.0 min | 79.6 min ✓ |
| Delay Rate (lower is better) | 17.4% ✓ | 19.2% |
| Cancellation Rate (lower is better) | 1.15% ✓ | 1.52% |
| Total Flights | 169,476 | 1,425,060 ▲ |
| Delayed Flights | 29,533 | 274,313 |
| Cancelled Flights | 1,950 | 21,697 |
| Top Delay Cause | Carrier | Late Aircraft |
✓ / ▲ indicates the more favorable value. Data: BTS On-Time Performance, 2020–2025.
Delay Cause Breakdown
DSM - Des Moines, IA
DCA - Washington, DC
Top Routes
Top routes from DSM
Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), On-Time Performance Data (2020–2025) Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), On-Time Performance Data (2020–2025) On-time rates exclude cancelled and diverted flights. PlainFlights is not affiliated with BTS or the DOT
Every figure on PlainFlights is rendered directly from BTS On-Time Performance data, no number is typed in by an editor. This tool queries live on-time, delay, and cancellation figures for the two selected airports from the dataset. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.