Flights Des Moines → Detroit
DSM → DTW
Route overview
The flight route from Des Moines to Detroit has an on-time performance rate of 83%, with an average delay of 22.1 minutes per flight. Over the course of a year, this route sees approximately 243 flights, serving one of the busiest airports in terms of passenger traffic, which handles around 28,160,572 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 Des Moines (DSM) → Detroit (DTW) route is operated by Delta Air Lines. Across 304 flights monitored in recent months, 81% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 23 minutes. The cancellation rate is 1.64%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 22.9/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At Detroit the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from Des Moines the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes.
Heading to Detroit: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Des Moines (DSM) to Detroit (DTW) heads east for about 856 km, a flight time of roughly 1h 29m.
Departures from Des Moines on this leg cluster in the overnight window: about 63% of DSM-DTW flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Des Moines the average ATFM delay is 2.0 min (atfm); arriving into Detroit it is 2.0 min (atfm).
Across 304 tracked DSM-DTW flights, 81% left on time with an average delay of 23 min and a 1.6% cancellation rate.
Route facts
Flights on this route
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Airline punctuality on this route
| Airline | On-time | Average delay | Cancellations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines (DL) | 80% | 8 min | 1.8% |
Airlines operating DSM-DTW
Airports
Frequently asked questions about DSM-DTW
On the Des Moines (DSM) -> Detroit (DTW) route, on-time performance is 81% with an average delay of 23 minutes, based on 304 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Des Moines-Detroit is 1.64% across 304 monitored flights.
The route is operated by 1 airline: Delta Air Lines.
Enter your flight number on FlightGuard for a real-time analysis based on 9 factors: weather at Detroit, 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.
