Flights Minneapolis → Washington
MSP → DCA
Route overview
The flight route from Minneapolis to Washington has a 79% on-time performance rate, with an average delay of 11.1 minutes per flight. Over the past year, this route has seen 652 flights operated by various aircraft models including Embraer and Boeing planes, serving one of the busiest airports in the United States, which opened in 1938 and currently handles 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 Minneapolis (MSP) → Washington (DCA) route is operated by American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Sun Country Airlines. Across 825 flights monitored in recent months, 79% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 12 minutes. The cancellation rate is 3.64%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 26.4/100 (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 Minneapolis the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes.
Heading to Washington: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Minneapolis (MSP) to Washington (DCA) heads east for about 1,495 km, a flight time of roughly 2h 17m.
Departures from Minneapolis on this leg cluster in the midday window: about 37% of MSP-DCA flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Minneapolis the average ATFM delay is 2.0 min (atfm); arriving into Washington it is 2.0 min (atfm).
Across 825 tracked MSP-DCA flights, 79% left on time with an average delay of 12 min and a 3.6% 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 MSP-DCA
Airports
Frequently asked questions about MSP-DCA
On the Minneapolis (MSP) -> Washington (DCA) route, on-time performance is 79% with an average delay of 12 minutes, based on 825 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Minneapolis-Washington is 3.64% across 825 monitored flights.
The route is operated by 3 airlines: American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Sun Country 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.
