Washington to Wilmington

What the Data Says About DCA to ILM

The Washington to Wilmington corridor (DCA → ILM) covers roughly 319 miles and is served by 10 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 3,656 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 79.5% on-time rate with an average delay of 72.9 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 1,661 flights were recorded on this pairing — 68 cancelled (4.1%) and 4 diverted (0.2%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 10 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 3,656 total flights analyzed, the 79.5% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 72.9-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 62% on-time — a 30-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the DCA to ILM route, the combination of a 79.5% on-time rate, 72.9-minute average delay, 4.1% recent cancellation rate, and 10 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.