Flights New York → Washington
JFK → DCA
How long is the flight from New York to Washington?
The flight from New York (JFK) to Washington (DCA) takes 50 min on average. That is the median time recorded across 4 scheduled flights on this leg; the actual time varies by a few minutes with wind, routing and take-off queues.
Route overview
This flight route connects New York to Washington, operating with a fleet of Boeing 737-800 and Canadair Regional Jet 900 aircraft. With an on-time performance rate of 75%, the average delay for flights is approximately 19.6 minutes, based on a total of 688 flights recorded. The destination airport, which opened in 1938, 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 New York (JFK) → Washington (DCA) route is operated by American Airlines, Delta Air Lines. Across 1589 flights monitored in recent months, 77% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 17 minutes. The cancellation rate is 5.73%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 32.2/100 (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 York the average ATFM delay is 5.5 minutes.
Heading to Washington: what to expect in this direction
Flying from New York (JFK) to Washington (DCA) heads south-west for about 342 km, a flight time of roughly 50m.
Departures from New York on this leg cluster in the midday window: about 44% of JFK-DCA flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing New York the average ATFM delay is 5.5 min (atfm); arriving into Washington it is 5.5 min (atfm).
Across 1,589 tracked JFK-DCA flights, 77% left on time with an average delay of 17 min and a 5.7% 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) | 85% | 1 min | 0.8% |
| American Airlines (AA) | 79% | 6 min | 1.1% |
Airlines operating JFK-DCA
Airports
Frequently asked questions about JFK-DCA
The flight from New York (JFK) to Washington (DCA) takes 50 min on average. That is the median time recorded across 4 scheduled flights on this leg; the actual time varies by a few minutes with wind, routing and take-off queues.
On the New York (JFK) -> Washington (DCA) route, on-time performance is 77% with an average delay of 17 minutes, based on 1589 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on New York-Washington is 5.73% across 1589 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.
