Flights Washington → Detroit
IAD → DTW
How long is the flight from Washington to Detroit?
The flight from Washington (IAD) to Detroit (DTW) takes 1h 2m 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
The flight route from Washington to Detroit operates with a fleet of Canadair Regional Jet 700, Embraer RJ145, and Embraer 170 aircraft. With a total of 485 flights recorded, the route maintains a 78% on-time performance rate, though flights experience an average delay of 22.9 minutes.
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) → Detroit (DTW) route is operated by Delta Air Lines, United Airlines. Across 1306 flights monitored in recent months, 79% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 20 minutes. The cancellation rate is 1.84%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 21.9/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At Detroit the average ATFM delay is 5.5 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from Washington the average ATFM delay is 5.5 minutes.
Heading to Detroit: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Washington (IAD) to Detroit (DTW) heads north-west for about 616 km, a flight time of roughly 1h 2m.
Departures from Washington on this leg cluster in the midday window: about 35% of IAD-DTW flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Washington the average ATFM delay is 5.5 min (atfm); arriving into Detroit it is 5.5 min (atfm).
Across 1,306 tracked IAD-DTW flights, 79% left on time with an average delay of 20 min and a 1.8% cancellation rate.
Route facts
Flights on this route
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Airline punctuality on this route
| Airline | On-time | Average delay | Cancellations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines (DL) | 85% | 1 min | 0.8% |
| United Airlines (UA) | 83% | 5 min | 1.3% |
Airlines operating IAD-DTW
Airports
Frequently asked questions about IAD-DTW
The flight from Washington (IAD) to Detroit (DTW) takes 1h 2m 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 Washington (IAD) -> Detroit (DTW) route, on-time performance is 79% with an average delay of 20 minutes, based on 1306 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Washington-Detroit is 1.84% across 1306 monitored flights.
The route is operated by 2 airlines: Delta Air Lines, United Airlines.
Enter your flight number on FlightGuard for a real-time analysis based on 9 factors: weather at Detroit, 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.
