Airport month record
DCAFEB
Ronald Reagan Washington National in February 2026
- Departures
- 10,996
- Month
- February 2026
- National, same month
- 80.2%
- Carriers
- 10
Historical statistics for February 2026, not live status or a forecast for this year’s February. For today’s conditions at DCA, see live FAA status.
DCA in February carries a cancellation problem, not just a delay problem: 4.3% of scheduled flights never operate, against 2.3% nationally. Of the ones that do fly, about seven flights in ten arrive on time, worth a C− overall. The punctuality figure counts only flights that actually departed, so it flatters an operation that cancels this often. That rests on 10,996 flights, of which United Airlines flew 480 at 83.7% on time.
United Airlines is the most reliable of the eight carriers covered here at 83.7% on time across 480 flights.
Key figures
On time
71.1%
Arrivals under 15 minutes late, of 10,507 completed departures
Avg delay
71 min
Across delayed arrivals only, not all flights
Cancelled
4.27%
Nationally in February: 2.25%
Whole year
73.3%
DCA across all twelve months
These figures cover 10,996 departures from Ronald Reagan Washington National in February 2026. 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
February next to DCA's other months
Against DCA's own year, February ran 2 points worse than the twelve-month rate of 73.3%, which makes it number nine of twelve months, best first. Either side of it, January ran 75.1% on time and March 70.2%, so this month sits in line with its neighbours.
| Month | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2025 | 12,192 | 67.0% | 103 min | 9.51% | C− |
| August 2025 | 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 (this page) | 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 February
Departure time matters more here than the choice of carrier. The gap between the best and worst window is 26 points, against 21 points between the best and worst carrier. Each bar is the on-time rate for flights scheduled inside that window.
- 5am–8am1,459 flights87.0%
- 8am–11am2,293 flights76.8%
- 11am–2pm1,719 flights77.1%
- 2pm–5pm2,028 flights64.5%
- 5pm–8pm1,936 flights60.7%
- 8pm–5am1,561 flights62.9%
Scale runs 50% to 90%. Rows with fewer than 30 flights show a dash.
The 5pm–8pm window is where this operation falls apart: 60.7% on time, against 87.0% 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 2,293 flights scheduled in it.
Across the week, Saturday is the strongest day at 78.5% on time and Friday the weakest at 58.5%. 20 points is a smaller lever than departure hour, but it is free.
Carrier by carrier
Which airlines ran best at DCA in February
The choice of carrier is not cosmetic here. United Airlines arrives on time 83.7% of the time; PSA Airlines manages 62.4%. Sample sizes sit next to every figure, because a two-point gap across 2,905 flights means less than a ten-point one.
| Airline | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA Airlines | 2,905 | 62.4% | 76 min | 5.89% | D− |
| Republic Airways | 2,332 | 71.5% | 60 min | 7.33% | C− |
| American Airlines | 2,172 | 72.1% | 85 min | 2.03% | C |
| Southwest Airlines | 1,224 | 80.4% | 54 min | 1.63% | B |
| Delta Air Lines | 726 | 79.8% | 74 min | 2.75% | B |
| JetBlue Airways | 525 | 66.6% | 73 min | 5.90% | C− |
| United Airlines | 480 | 83.7% | 53 min | 0.21% | B+ |
| Envoy Air | 388 | 72.8% | 64 min | 2.58% | C |
| Alaska Airlinesthin sample | 168 | 61.1% | 57 min | 0.60% | D+ |
| Frontier Airlinesthin sample | 76 | 78.9% | 117 min | 0.00% | B+ |
Republic Airways cancels 7.3% 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 February
| Route | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DCA to BOS · Boston | 730 | 71.3% | 79 min | 8.49% | C− |
| DCA to ORD · Chicago | 530 | 77.2% | 66 min | 1.32% | B |
| DCA to ATL · Atlanta | 528 | 81.0% | 69 min | 3.98% | B− |
| DCA to LGA · New York | 390 | 60.0% | 68 min | 8.72% | D− |
| DCA to MCO · Orlandothin sample | 344 | 71.7% | 81 min | 1.16% | C |
| DCA to BNA · Nashvillethin sample | 344 | 78.6% | 61 min | 3.49% | B− |
| DCA to MIA · Miamithin sample | 302 | 82.2% | 121 min | 2.32% | B |
| DCA to IAH · Houstonthin sample | 258 | 89.7% | 59 min | 2.33% | A |
| DCA to DFW · Dallas-Fort Worththin sample | 252 | 79.4% | 73 min | 1.59% | B |
| DCA to DTW · Detroitthin sample | 240 | 75.2% | 57 min | 3.75% | B− |
| DCA to MSP · Minneapolisthin sample | 200 | 75.4% | 67 min | 4.00% | B− |
| DCA to TPA · Tampathin sample | 195 | 74.2% | 76 min | 0.51% | C+ |
| DCA to CLT · Charlottethin sample | 192 | 77.0% | 93 min | 4.69% | B− |
| DCA to FLL · Fort Lauderdalethin sample | 190 | 64.9% | 53 min | 2.63% | D |
| DCA to PVD · Providencethin sample | 183 | 66.3% | 60 min | 9.29% | C− |
| DCA to STL · St. Louisthin sample | 179 | 76.9% | 74 min | 3.35% | B− |
| DCA to PBI · West Palm Beachthin sample | 177 | 66.9% | 72 min | 0.56% | C+ |
| DCA to JFK · New Yorkthin sample | 168 | 70.6% | 56 min | 8.93% | C− |
| DCA to MSY · New Orleansthin sample | 165 | 68.5% | 50 min | 1.82% | C |
| DCA to CMH · Columbusthin sample | 163 | 73.5% | 68 min | 4.91% | C− |
| DCA to RDU · Raleighthin sample | 161 | 65.1% | 68 min | 5.59% | C− |
| DCA to IND · Indianapolisthin sample | 158 | 74.0% | 61 min | 7.59% | C− |
| DCA to MDW · Chicagothin sample | 157 | 83.8% | 39 min | 0.64% | B+ |
| DCA to MCI · Kansas Citythin sample | 148 | 69.2% | 62 min | 3.38% | C− |
| DCA to CHS · Charlestonthin sample | 133 | 66.7% | 67 min | 3.01% | C− |
Delay causes
What held DCA up in February
One category carries most of the weight here. Late-arriving aircraft accounts for 57% of the 217,000 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.
- 57%Late-arriving aircraft
- 24%Carrier
- 15%National Airspace System
- 4%Extreme weather
- 0%Security
57% 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 217,000 reported delay minutes here, that single category outweighs weather by 16 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 216,700 reported delay minutes.
Cancellations run at 4.27%, against 2.25% nationally. That is about one flight in 25 cancelled outright. A cancelled flight is invisible in every on-time figure on this page, so the punctuality numbers above describe only the flights that actually operated.
For anyone connecting, the number to weigh is not the on-time rate but the tail behind it. 10.6% of arrivals land a full hour or more behind schedule, against 6.5% nationally. A 45-minute layover does not survive that, and no amount of walking quickly changes it. Ninety minutes is the honest minimum here, and two hours if the onward flight is on a separate ticket.
What to do with this
Flying from DCA in February
For a February trip through DCA: expect 71.1% on time and 4.27% cancelled, going by February 2026. 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 August76.8%
- DCA in September77.9%
- DCA in October76.9%
- DCA in November72.7%
- DCA in December66.8%
- DCA in January75.1%
- 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.