Flights Buffalo → Washington
BUF → DCA
How long is the flight from Buffalo to Washington?
The flight from Buffalo (BUF) to Washington (DCA) takes about 1h 1m. This is an estimate based on the distance between the two airports: the real time depends on the aircraft, wind and any stops.
Route overview
The flight route from Buffalo to Washington operates with an average on-time performance rate of 74%, experiencing a mean delay of 33.8 minutes per flight. Over the past year, there have been 259 flights on this route using Embraer 170 and 175 aircraft models, serving one of the busiest airports in the United States, which opened in 1938 and handles over 25 million passengers annually.
Your rights on this US flight (DOT)
US flights have no statutory cash compensation for delays. Under the US DOT rules, if your flight is cancelled or significantly changed and you decline rebooking, you're owed an automatic refund of the unused ticket. The tarmac-delay limit is 3 hours (domestic) / 4 hours (international). Amenities for controllable delays depend on each airline's contract of carriage.
US flight refund rules & checker →General information, not legal advice.
The Buffalo (BUF) → Washington (DCA) route is operated by American Airlines. Across 633 flights monitored in recent months, 71% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 36 minutes. The cancellation rate is 7.27%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 28.2/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At Washington the average ATFM delay is 5.5 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from Buffalo the average ATFM delay is 5.5 minutes.
Heading to Washington: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Buffalo (BUF) to Washington (DCA) heads south for about 476 km, a flight time of roughly 1h 1m.
Departures from Buffalo on this leg cluster in the overnight window: about 33% of BUF-DCA flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Buffalo the average ATFM delay is 5.5 min (atfm); arriving into Washington it is 5.5 min (atfm).
Across 633 tracked BUF-DCA flights, 71% left on time with an average delay of 36 min and a 7.3% cancellation rate.
Route facts
Flights on this route
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Airline punctuality on this route
| Airline | On-time | Average delay | Cancellations |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlines (AA) | 79% | 6 min | 1.1% |
Airlines operating BUF-DCA
Airports
Frequently asked questions about BUF-DCA
The flight from Buffalo (BUF) to Washington (DCA) takes about 1h 1m. This is an estimate based on the distance between the two airports: the real time depends on the aircraft, wind and any stops.
On the Buffalo (BUF) -> Washington (DCA) route, on-time performance is 71% with an average delay of 36 minutes, based on 633 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Buffalo-Washington is 7.27% across 633 monitored flights.
The route is operated by 1 airline: American Airlines.
Enter your flight number on FlightGuard for a real-time analysis based on 9 factors: weather at Washington, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel, airline punctuality and recent trends.
US flights have no statutory cash compensation for delays. Under US DOT rules, if the airline cancels or significantly changes your flight and you decline rebooking, you're owed an automatic refund of the unused ticket. The tarmac-delay limit is 3 hours (domestic) / 4 hours (international). Meals or hotels for controllable delays depend on each airline's contract of carriage.
