Flights Norfolk → Washington
ORF → DCA
Route overview
The flight route from Norfolk to Washington operates with a De Havilland Canada DHC-8-300 Dash 8 aircraft and has an on-time performance rate of 76%, with an average delay of 24.4 minutes per flight. Over the past year, this route has seen 266 flights, serving a destination airport that 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 Norfolk (ORF) → Washington (DCA) route is operated by American Airlines. Across 373 flights monitored in recent months, 78% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 22 minutes. The cancellation rate is 3.75%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 24.1/100 (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 Norfolk the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes.
Heading to Washington: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Norfolk (ORF) to Washington (DCA) heads north for about 230 km, a flight time of roughly 42m.
Departures from Norfolk on this leg cluster in the morning window: about 66% of ORF-DCA flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Norfolk the average ATFM delay is 2.0 min (atfm); arriving into Washington it is 2.0 min (atfm).
Across 373 tracked ORF-DCA flights, 78% left on time with an average delay of 22 min and a 3.8% 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) | 74% | 16 min | 3.0% |
Airlines operating ORF-DCA
Airports
Frequently asked questions about ORF-DCA
On the Norfolk (ORF) -> Washington (DCA) route, on-time performance is 78% with an average delay of 22 minutes, based on 373 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Norfolk-Washington is 3.75% across 373 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.
