Washington to Norfolk

What the Data Says About DCA to ORF

The Washington to Norfolk corridor (DCA → ORF) covers roughly 142 miles and is served by 7 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 6,231 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 75.8% on-time rate with an average delay of 77.2 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 2,399 flights were recorded on this pairing — 86 cancelled (3.6%) and 5 diverted (0.2%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 7 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 6,231 total flights analyzed, the 75.8% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 77.2-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, Jun 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 85% on-time, while Dec 2025 came in at 51% on-time — a 34-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the DCA to ORF route, the combination of a 75.8% on-time rate, 77.2-minute average delay, 3.6% recent cancellation rate, and 7 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.