Flights Denver → Washington
DEN → DCA
How long is the flight from Denver to Washington?
The flight from Denver (DEN) to Washington (DCA) takes 2h 57m on average. That is the median time recorded across 5 scheduled flights on this leg; the actual time varies by a few minutes with wind, routing and take-off queues.
Route overview
This flight route operates from Denver, which has been serving passengers since 1989, to Washington, where the airport opened in 1938 and currently handles over 25 million passengers annually. Over a period of time, there have been 328 flights on this route, with an average delay of 11.6 minutes and an on-time performance rate of 80%.
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 Denver (DEN) → Washington (DCA) route is operated by Frontier Airlines, United Airlines. Across 837 flights monitored in recent months, 80% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 9 minutes. The cancellation rate is 0.36%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 16.5/100 (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 Denver the average ATFM delay is 5.5 minutes.
Heading to Washington: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Denver (DEN) to Washington (DCA) heads east for about 2,369 km, a flight time of roughly 2h 57m.
Departures from Denver on this leg cluster in the overnight window: about 67% of DEN-DCA flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Denver the average ATFM delay is 5.5 min (atfm); arriving into Washington it is 5.5 min (atfm).
Across 837 tracked DEN-DCA flights, 80% left on time with an average delay of 9 min and a 0.4% cancellation rate.
Route facts
Flights on this route
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Airline punctuality on this route
| Airline | On-time | Average delay | Cancellations |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines (UA) | 83% | 5 min | 1.3% |
| Frontier Airlines (F9) | 74% | 11 min | 1.3% |
Airlines operating DEN-DCA
Airports
Frequently asked questions about DEN-DCA
The flight from Denver (DEN) to Washington (DCA) takes 2h 57m on average. That is the median time recorded across 5 scheduled flights on this leg; the actual time varies by a few minutes with wind, routing and take-off queues.
On the Denver (DEN) -> Washington (DCA) route, on-time performance is 80% with an average delay of 9 minutes, based on 837 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Denver-Washington is 0.36% across 837 monitored flights.
The route is operated by 2 airlines: Frontier Airlines, United 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.
