Knoxville to Washington

What the Data Says About TYS to DCA

The Knoxville to Washington corridor (TYS → DCA) covers roughly 437 miles and is served by 8 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 4,949 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 81.6% on-time rate with an average delay of 91.6 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 2,102 flights were recorded on this pairing — 82 cancelled (3.9%) and 8 diverted (0.4%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 8 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 4,949 total flights analyzed, the 81.6% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 91.6-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, Nov 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 89% on-time, while Feb 2025 came in at 54% on-time — a 34-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the TYS to DCA route, the combination of a 81.6% on-time rate, 91.6-minute average delay, 3.9% recent cancellation rate, and 8 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.