Flights Washington → Atlanta
IAD → ATL
Route overview
The flight route from Washington to Atlanta operates with an average on-time performance of 85%, experiencing a mean delay of 12.4 minutes per flight. Over the course of a year, this route sees approximately 922 flights using various aircraft models including Airbus A320, McDonnell Douglas MD-88, Airbus A319, Canadair Regional Jet 700, and Embraer 170, serving one of the busiest destination airports in the United States with over 108 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 Washington (IAD) → Atlanta (ATL) route is operated by Air France, ITA Airways, Delta Air Lines, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Lufthansa Cargo, United Airlines. Across 1162 flights monitored in recent months, 85% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 13 minutes. The cancellation rate is 1.72%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 20.2/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At Atlanta the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from Washington the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes.
Heading to Atlanta: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Washington (IAD) to Atlanta (ATL) heads south-west for about 859 km, a flight time of roughly 1h 30m.
Departures from Washington on this leg cluster in the morning window: about 40% of IAD-ATL flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Washington the average ATFM delay is 2.0 min (atfm); arriving into Atlanta it is 2.0 min (atfm).
Across 1,162 tracked IAD-ATL flights, 85% left on time with an average delay of 13 min and a 1.7% cancellation rate.
Route facts
Flights on this route
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Airline punctuality on this route
| Airline | On-time | Average delay | Cancellations |
|---|---|---|---|
| KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KL) | 84% | 20 min | 0.0% |
| Air France (AF) | 82% | 18 min | 3.3% |
| Delta Air Lines (DL) | 80% | 8 min | 1.8% |
| Lufthansa Cargo (LH) | 76% | 15 min | 7.1% |
| United Airlines (UA) | 74% | 10 min | 6.9% |
| ITA Airways (AZ) | 59% | 35 min | 4.9% |
Airlines operating IAD-ATL
Airports
Frequently asked questions about IAD-ATL
On the Washington (IAD) -> Atlanta (ATL) route, on-time performance is 85% with an average delay of 13 minutes, based on 1162 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Washington-Atlanta is 1.72% across 1162 monitored flights.
The route is operated by 6 airlines: Air France, ITA Airways, Delta Air Lines, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Lufthansa Cargo, United Airlines.
Enter your flight number on FlightGuard for a real-time analysis based on 9 factors: weather at Atlanta, 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.
