Airport month record
DCAAUG
Ronald Reagan Washington National in August 2025
- Departures
- 12,098
- Month
- August 2025
- National, same month
- 77.4%
- Carriers
- 10
Historical statistics for August 2025, not live status or a forecast for this year’s August. For today’s conditions at DCA, see live FAA status.
DCA in August lands a B, level with the national rate of 77.4%. About one flight in four arrives 15 minutes late or worse, and those flights are late by a little over an hour on average. That is a workable record, not a spotless one. That rests on 12,098 flights, of which Republic Airways flew 2,232 at 82.9% on time.
Republic Airways is the most reliable of the seven carriers covered here at 82.9% on time across 2,232 flights.
Key figures
On time
76.8%
Arrivals under 15 minutes late, of 11,807 completed departures
Avg delay
74 min
Across delayed arrivals only, not all flights
Cancelled
2.12%
Nationally in August: 1.08%
Whole year
73.3%
DCA across all twelve months
These figures cover 12,098 departures from Ronald Reagan Washington National in August 2025. On time means an arrival less than 15 minutes after the scheduled gate time, the DOT's threshold, and the national comparison uses every US departure in the same month rather than the whole year.
Against the year
August next to DCA's other months
Against DCA's own year, August ran 4 points better than the twelve-month rate of 73.3%, which makes it number four of twelve months, best first. Cancellations were unusually low for DCA in August, at 2.12% against 3.69% across the year. Either side of it, July ran 67.0% on time and September 77.9%, so a trip moved by a few weeks would have landed in a worse stretch.
| Month | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2025 | 12,192 | 67.0% | 103 min | 9.51% | C− |
| August 2025 (this page) | 12,098 | 76.8% | 74 min | 2.12% | B |
| September 2025 | 11,822 | 77.9% | 66 min | 0.82% | B+ |
| October 2025 | 12,273 | 76.9% | 61 min | 0.62% | B+ |
| November 2025 | 11,586 | 72.7% | 73 min | 3.04% | C− |
| December 2025 | 11,308 | 66.8% | 73 min | 2.28% | C |
| January 2026 | 11,858 | 75.1% | 77 min | 9.43% | B− |
| February 2026 | 10,996 | 71.1% | 71 min | 4.27% | C− |
| March 2026 | 12,204 | 70.2% | 85 min | 4.98% | C− |
| April 2026 | 11,802 | 77.0% | 76 min | 0.80% | B+ |
| May 2026 | 12,158 | 74.8% | 70 min | 1.45% | C |
| June 2026 | 11,953 | 71.6% | 88 min | 4.94% | C− |
Departure window
The best time of day to leave DCA in August
Departure time matters more here than the choice of carrier. The gap between the best and worst window is 28 points, against 11 points between the best and worst carrier. Each bar is the on-time rate for flights scheduled inside that window.
- 5am–8am1,438 flights91.7%
- 8am–11am2,620 flights84.5%
- 11am–2pm2,039 flights79.1%
- 2pm–5pm2,060 flights73.6%
- 5pm–8pm2,244 flights63.6%
- 8pm–5am1,697 flights70.5%
Scale runs 55% to 95%. Rows with fewer than 30 flights show a dash.
The 5pm–8pm window is where this operation falls apart: 63.6% on time, against 91.7% for the 5am–8am slot. By evening the aircraft flying these rotations have absorbed a full day of small delays and there is no slack left to recover in. The 8am–11am window is the busiest, with 2,620 flights scheduled in it.
Across the week, Tuesday is the strongest day at 84.8% on time and Thursday the weakest at 71.5%. 13 points is a smaller lever than departure hour, but it is free.
Carrier by carrier
Which airlines ran best at DCA in August
The choice of carrier is not cosmetic here. Republic Airways arrives on time 82.9% of the time; PSA Airlines manages 72.3%. Sample sizes sit next to every figure, because a two-point gap across 3,479 flights means less than a ten-point one.
| Airline | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA Airlines | 3,479 | 72.3% | 73 min | 3.42% | C− |
| American Airlines | 2,400 | 74.6% | 79 min | 1.54% | C |
| Republic Airways | 2,232 | 82.9% | 64 min | 1.84% | B |
| Southwest Airlines | 1,357 | 76.5% | 62 min | 0.96% | B+ |
| Delta Air Lines | 806 | 81.0% | 94 min | 2.36% | B |
| United Airlines | 642 | 80.0% | 77 min | 2.02% | B |
| JetBlue Airways | 562 | 76.8% | 74 min | 0.89% | B+ |
| Envoy Airthin sample | 350 | 81.7% | 119 min | 1.71% | B |
| Alaska Airlinesthin sample | 186 | 79.8% | 77 min | 1.61% | B |
| Frontier Airlinesthin sample | 84 | 76.2% | 58 min | 0.00% | B+ |
PSA Airlines cancels 3.4% of what it schedules here, the highest in the table. A cancelled flight never appears in an on-time rate, so read that column alongside the punctuality one rather than after it.
Route by route
Busiest routes out of DCA in August
| Route | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DCA to BOS · Boston | 740 | 82.7% | 78 min | 2.16% | B |
| DCA to ORD · Chicago | 584 | 77.0% | 91 min | 2.91% | B |
| DCA to ATL · Atlanta | 583 | 80.7% | 92 min | 1.89% | B |
| DCA to LGA · New York | 406 | 82.2% | 72 min | 1.72% | B |
| DCA to MCO · Orlando | 385 | 68.8% | 95 min | 1.82% | C |
| DCA to BNA · Nashvillethin sample | 346 | 84.4% | 55 min | 1.73% | B |
| DCA to MIA · Miamithin sample | 335 | 72.8% | 78 min | 0.90% | C+ |
| DCA to DFW · Dallas-Fort Worththin sample | 274 | 76.4% | 79 min | 3.28% | B− |
| DCA to CLT · Charlottethin sample | 242 | 75.1% | 111 min | 0.41% | B+ |
| DCA to DTW · Detroitthin sample | 233 | 82.0% | 65 min | 2.15% | B |
| DCA to JFK · New Yorkthin sample | 217 | 82.4% | 62 min | 3.23% | B− |
| DCA to IAH · Houstonthin sample | 207 | 82.8% | 72 min | 0.97% | B+ |
| DCA to MSP · Minneapolisthin sample | 203 | 77.3% | 83 min | 1.97% | B |
| DCA to PVD · Providencethin sample | 202 | 73.7% | 54 min | 1.49% | C |
| DCA to STL · St. Louisthin sample | 197 | 79.6% | 64 min | 0.51% | B+ |
| DCA to CMH · Columbusthin sample | 181 | 76.3% | 48 min | 2.21% | B |
| DCA to MDW · Chicagothin sample | 181 | 80.8% | 70 min | 1.66% | B |
| DCA to TPA · Tampathin sample | 176 | 70.3% | 73 min | 0.57% | C+ |
| DCA to FLL · Fort Lauderdalethin sample | 173 | 71.3% | 52 min | 0.58% | C+ |
| DCA to IND · Indianapolisthin sample | 171 | 77.8% | 88 min | 2.34% | B |
| DCA to BDL · Hartfordthin sample | 170 | 73.9% | 71 min | 2.94% | C |
| DCA to RDU · Raleighthin sample | 163 | 67.9% | 62 min | 2.45% | C |
| DCA to CHS · Charlestonthin sample | 149 | 72.7% | 64 min | 4.03% | C− |
| DCA to DAL · Dallasthin sample | 146 | 72.0% | 57 min | 2.05% | C |
| DCA to MSY · New Orleansthin sample | 145 | 73.2% | 52 min | 2.07% | C |
Delay causes
What held DCA up in August
One category carries most of the weight here. Late-arriving aircraft accounts for 49% of the 203,000 delay minutes carriers reported, and the remaining four split what is left. The split is by minutes rather than by flights, so a few very long delays count for as much as many short ones.
- 49%Late-arriving aircraft
- 26%Carrier
- 19%National Airspace System
- 6%Extreme weather
- 0%Security
49% of delay minutes trace back to a late-arriving aircraft, meaning the plane was already behind before it got here. That is a cascade, and cascades start small and grow through the day. Across 203,000 reported delay minutes here, that single category outweighs weather by 8 to one. It is the strongest argument for booking the first departure of the morning, when the aircraft has been sitting at the gate overnight with nothing to inherit. The split is drawn from 203,022 reported delay minutes.
Cancellations sit at 2.12% against a national 1.08%, which is ordinary. Diversions add another 0.29%.
8.6% of arrivals land an hour or more late, close to the national 8.2%. That is the figure that decides a connection, and it says a 60 to 75 minute layover is reasonable here while anything under 45 minutes is a bet. Most delays on this route last a little over an hour, which a normal layover absorbs.
What to do with this
Flying from DCA in August
For a August trip through DCA: expect 76.8% on time and 2.12% cancelled, going by August 2025. The 5am–8am window was the strongest part of the day.
Related
Where to go next
- Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA), the whole year
- DCA in July67.0%
- DCA in September77.9%
- DCA in October76.9%
- DCA in November72.7%
- DCA in December66.8%
- DCA in January75.1%
- DCA in February71.1%
- DCA in March70.2%
- DCA in April77.0%
- DCA in May74.8%
- DCA in June71.6%
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, on-time performance data, July 2025 to June 2026. Last updated 15 September 2026; recomputed monthly. How this data is collected.