Flights Washington → Denver
IAD → DEN
Route overview
The flight route from Washington to Denver operates with an average on-time performance rate of 82%, with flights typically experiencing a mean delay of 9.9 minutes. Over the course of a year, this route sees approximately 848 flights using various aircraft models including Boeing and Airbus variants. The destination airport in Denver, which opened in 1989, handles nearly 82 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) → Denver (DEN) route is operated by United Airlines, Southwest Airlines. Across 1069 flights monitored in recent months, 80% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 12 minutes. The cancellation rate is 2.62%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 25.3/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At Denver the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from Washington the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes.
Heading to Denver: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Washington (IAD) to Denver (DEN) heads west for about 2,332 km, a flight time of roughly 3h 20m.
Departures from Washington on this leg cluster in the midday window: about 37% of IAD-DEN flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Washington the average ATFM delay is 2.0 min (atfm); arriving into Denver it is 2.0 min (atfm).
Across 1,069 tracked IAD-DEN flights, 80% left on time with an average delay of 12 min and a 2.6% cancellation rate.
Route facts
Flights on this route
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Airline punctuality on this route
| Airline | On-time | Average delay | Cancellations |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines (UA) | 74% | 10 min | 6.9% |
| Southwest Airlines (WN) | 73% | 6 min | 3.1% |
Airlines operating IAD-DEN
Airports
Frequently asked questions about IAD-DEN
On the Washington (IAD) -> Denver (DEN) route, on-time performance is 80% with an average delay of 12 minutes, based on 1069 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Washington-Denver is 2.62% across 1069 monitored flights.
The route is operated by 2 airlines: United Airlines, Southwest Airlines.
Enter your flight number on FlightGuard for a real-time analysis based on 9 factors: weather at Denver, 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.
