Columbus to Washington

What the Data Says About CMH to DCA

The Columbus to Washington corridor (CMH → DCA) covers roughly 323 miles and is served by 21 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 9,836 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 83.5% on-time rate with an average delay of 69.4 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 3,918 flights were recorded on this pairing — 95 cancelled (2.4%) and 10 diverted (0.3%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 21 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 9,836 total flights analyzed, the 83.5% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 69.4-minute average delay applies only to flights that actually ran late, so it is not the average wait across all departures — the majority of flights on this route depart on time under the BTS definition of a delay (15+ minutes past schedule).

Looking at recent months, Oct 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 92% on-time, while Dec 2025 came in at 55% on-time — a 37-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the CMH to DCA route, the combination of a 83.5% on-time rate, 69.4-minute average delay, 2.4% recent cancellation rate, and 21 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.