Flights Memphis → Washington
MEM → DCA
Route overview
The flight route from Memphis to Washington operates with an Embraer 170 aircraft and has a total of 252 flights, achieving a 76% on-time performance rate. Despite this relatively high punctuality, the average delay for these flights is approximately 23 minutes. The destination airport in Washington, which opened in 1938, serves 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 Memphis (MEM) → Washington (DCA) route is operated by American Airlines, Delta Air Lines. Across 337 flights monitored in recent months, 78% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 19 minutes. The cancellation rate is 5.34%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 22.1/100 (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 Memphis the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes.
Heading to Washington: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Memphis (MEM) to Washington (DCA) heads north-east for about 1,224 km, a flight time of roughly 1h 57m.
Departures from Memphis on this leg cluster in the overnight window: about 66% of MEM-DCA flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Memphis the average ATFM delay is 2.0 min (atfm); arriving into Washington it is 2.0 min (atfm).
Across 337 tracked MEM-DCA flights, 78% left on time with an average delay of 19 min and a 5.3% 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% |
| American Airlines (AA) | 74% | 16 min | 3.0% |
Airlines operating MEM-DCA
Airports
Frequently asked questions about MEM-DCA
On the Memphis (MEM) -> Washington (DCA) route, on-time performance is 78% with an average delay of 19 minutes, based on 337 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Memphis-Washington is 5.34% across 337 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.
