Flights New Orleans → Washington
MSY → DCA
How long is the flight from New Orleans to Washington?
The flight from New Orleans (MSY) to Washington (DCA) takes 2h 27m on average. That is the median time recorded across 1 scheduled flight on this leg; the actual time varies by a few minutes with wind, routing and take-off queues.
Route overview
The flight route from New Orleans to Washington operates with a fleet of Embraer 175, Embraer 170, and Airbus A319 aircraft. With a total of 531 flights recorded, the route has an on-time performance rate of 72%, averaging a delay of 23 minutes per flight. The destination airport, which opened in 1938, handles approximately 25,453,581 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 New Orleans (MSY) → Washington (DCA) route is operated by American Airlines. Across 1162 flights monitored in recent months, 67% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 29 minutes. The cancellation rate is 4.22%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 22.3/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At Washington the average ATFM delay is 5.5 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from New Orleans the average ATFM delay is 5.5 minutes.
Heading to Washington: what to expect in this direction
Flying from New Orleans (MSY) to Washington (DCA) heads north-east for about 1,560 km, a flight time of roughly 2h 27m.
Departures from New Orleans on this leg cluster in the overnight window: about 41% of MSY-DCA flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing New Orleans the average ATFM delay is 5.5 min (atfm); arriving into Washington it is 5.5 min (atfm).
Across 1,162 tracked MSY-DCA flights, 67% left on time with an average delay of 29 min and a 4.2% cancellation rate.
Route facts
Flights on this route
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Airline punctuality on this route
| Airline | On-time | Average delay | Cancellations |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlines (AA) | 79% | 6 min | 1.1% |
Airlines operating MSY-DCA
Airports
Frequently asked questions about MSY-DCA
The flight from New Orleans (MSY) to Washington (DCA) takes 2h 27m on average. That is the median time recorded across 1 scheduled flight on this leg; the actual time varies by a few minutes with wind, routing and take-off queues.
On the New Orleans (MSY) -> Washington (DCA) route, on-time performance is 67% with an average delay of 29 minutes, based on 1162 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on New Orleans-Washington is 4.22% across 1162 monitored flights.
The route is operated by 1 airline: American 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.
