ATL to DCA flight delays
ATL DCA Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta to Ronald Reagan Washington · 547 miles
20,601 flights were scheduled from ATL to DCA over July 2023 through June 2026. Of the 20,057 that made the trip, 74.2% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. These are arrival figures: “on time” means the flight reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Arrivals are what decide whether you make the connection, so route and airline pages are scored on them rather than on pushback.
Data through June 2026 · Bureau of Transportation Statistics
The route in brief
- Flights in the window
- 20,601
- Arrived on time
- 74.2%
- Cancelled
- 2.2%
- Scheduled distance
- 547 miles
Cancellations are counted against everything scheduled. Diverted flights are counted with them rather than as very late arrivals, which is why the on-time share and the cancellation rate do not add up to everything that happened.
Airline by airline
Airlines with at least 100 flights on ATL–DCA, busiest first. Same route, same weather, same air traffic — which makes this the fairest comparison on the site.
| Airline | Arrived on time | Typical delay | Cancelled | Flights |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines | 71.9% | 59 min | 1.7% | 11,479 |
| Southwest Airlines | 76% | 63 min | 1.1% | 3,975 |
| PSA Airlines | 75.9% | 127 min | 5.7% | 2,563 |
| Republic Airways | 80.5% | 57 min | 2.4% | 1,856 |
| Envoy Air | 75.4% | 59 min | 5.1% | 374 |
| American Airlines | 84.2% | 131 min | 1.7% | 354 |
Month by month
July was the month to avoid on ATL–DCA: 63.4% of flights arrived on time, against 85% in October. Each bar pools three years of that calendar month.
| Month | Share flights that arrived on time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| January | 76% | 1,736 |
| February | 70.3% | 1,609 |
| March | 71.1% | 1,754 |
| April | 73.1% | 1,710 |
| May | 68.2% | 1,754 |
| June | 69.6% | 1,692 |
| July | 63.4% | 1,767 |
| August | 74.3% | 1,747 |
| September | 83% | 1,724 |
| October | 85% | 1,765 |
| November | 81.2% | 1,673 |
| December | 74.6% | 1,670 |
Both ends of the route
A route’s record is built out of two airports’ habits. The hour-by-hour grid for each is on its own page.
ATL to DCA in one number
ATL → DCA
When a flight on this route was late, it was late by about 68 min.
Questions about ATL to DCA
- Which airline is most reliable from ATL to DCA?
- American Airlines — its flights on this pairing arrived on time 84.2% of the time, with 354 scheduled. Delta Air Lines came in at 71.9% over 11,479 scheduled. Airlines with fewer than 100 flights on the route are not rated.
- What is the worst month to fly ATL to DCA?
- July, at 63.4% of arrivals on time, with 1,767 flights scheduled. October was the best of the year at 85%.
- How late are ATL–DCA flights when they are late?
- 68 min on average, counting only the flights that arrived 15 minutes or more behind schedule. The on-time flights are left out of that average on purpose — mixing them in would flatter it.
- How often is the ATL to DCA flight cancelled?
- 2.2% of scheduled flights on this route were cancelled, July 2023 through June 2026. Diverted flights are counted with the cancellations rather than as late arrivals.
- Are these departure or arrival numbers?
- Arrival. A flight counts as on time here if it reached the gate at DCA less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Airport pages score departures instead, because that is the number you can act on when you pick a booking time.