Flights Detroit → Washington
DTW → IAD
Route overview
The flight route from Detroit to Washington operates with a fleet of Canadair Regional Jet 700, Embraer RJ145, and Embraer 170 aircraft. With an on-time performance rate of 77%, the average delay for flights is approximately 19.8 minutes, based on a total of 482 recorded flights. The destination airport serves over 21 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 Detroit (DTW) → Washington (IAD) route is operated by Delta Air Lines, United Airlines. Across 637 flights monitored in recent months, 78% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 17 minutes. The cancellation rate is 1.26%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 23.4/100 (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 (IAD) heads south-east for about 616 km, a flight time of roughly 1h 11m.
Departures from Detroit on this leg cluster in the morning window: about 38% of DTW-IAD 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 637 tracked DTW-IAD flights, 78% left on time with an average delay of 17 min and a 1.3% 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% |
| United Airlines (UA) | 74% | 10 min | 6.9% |
Airlines operating DTW-IAD
Airports
Frequently asked questions about DTW-IAD
On the Detroit (DTW) -> Washington (IAD) route, on-time performance is 78% with an average delay of 17 minutes, based on 637 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Detroit-Washington is 1.26% across 637 monitored flights.
The route is operated by 2 airlines: Delta Air Lines, 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.
