Flights Detroit → Washington
DTW → DCA
Route overview
The flight route from Detroit to Washington operates with a fleet of various aircraft including the Embraer 170, Embraer 175, Boeing 737-800, McDonnell Douglas MD-88, Airbus A319, and McDonnell Douglas MD-90. With a high annual passenger traffic of 25,453,581 at the destination airport, which opened in 1938, the route experiences an on-time performance rate of 78%, with flights typically delayed by around 19.1 minutes on average.
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 Detroit (DTW) → Washington (DCA) route is operated by American Airlines, Delta Air Lines. Across 994 flights monitored in recent months, 77% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 19 minutes. The cancellation rate is 4.23%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 31.2/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At Washington the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from Detroit the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes.
Heading to Washington: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Detroit (DTW) to Washington (DCA) heads south-east for about 651 km, a flight time of roughly 1h 14m.
Departures from Detroit on this leg cluster in the overnight window: about 43% of DTW-DCA flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Detroit the average ATFM delay is 2.0 min (atfm); arriving into Washington it is 2.0 min (atfm).
Across 994 tracked DTW-DCA flights, 77% left on time with an average delay of 19 min and a 4.2% cancellation rate.
Route facts
Flights on this route
Check the risk of a specific flight.
Flexible on this trip? Compare flights
Airline punctuality on this route
| Airline | On-time | Average delay | Cancellations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines (DL) | 80% | 8 min | 1.8% |
| American Airlines (AA) | 74% | 16 min | 3.0% |
Airlines operating DTW-DCA
Airports
Frequently asked questions about DTW-DCA
On the Detroit (DTW) -> Washington (DCA) route, on-time performance is 77% with an average delay of 19 minutes, based on 994 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Detroit-Washington is 4.23% across 994 monitored flights.
The route is operated by 2 airlines: American Airlines, Delta Air Lines.
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.
