DSM to DCA flight delays
Des Moines, IA (DSM) Washington, VA (DCA) · 897 miles
702 flights · January 2025 – August 2026 · US Bureau of Transportation Statistics
77.85%
Arrived on time
Within 15 minutes of schedule
6.41%
Cancelled
Share of scheduled flights
104 min
When late, late by
Average across delayed arrivals
24 min
Delay per flight
Averaged over every flight flown
What the record says about this route
Cancellation, not delay, is the risk worth pricing here: 6.41% of scheduled flights never operated. A late flight still gets you there. A cancelled one leaves you rebooking, and on a route with few daily departures that can mean losing a day.
The season swings this route hard. In April it ran 20.3 points more punctual than in March — a difference bigger than the one between the best and worst airlines on most routes. If the date is flexible, it is worth more than the carrier.
The 2 airlines here are separated by under 1 point — close enough to call a tie. Choose on price and departure time.
The Des Moines to Washington route sits close to the middle of the record — neither notably punctual nor notably late.
Which airline should you fly on this route?
Over January 2025 – August 2026, PSA Airlines arrived on time most often on DSM to DCA. Republic Airways was late most often. Flights ran closest to schedule in April and worst in March.
Every airline on DSM to DCA
Ranked by how many flights each one operated. A carrier with fewer than 100 flights in the period is listed but not graded.
| Airline | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Avg delay | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA Airlines | 385 | 77.87% | 6.75% | 139 min | D |
| Republic Airways | 257 | 77.22% | 5.84% | 62 min | D |
| Envoy Air | 59 | 80% | 6.78% | 58 min | — |
| American Airlines | 1 | 100% | 0% | — | — |
Month by month
Share of flights that arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, by month flown.
The return leg
DCA to DSM Washington back to Des Moines 72.96% on time FOther routes from Des Moines
Common questions
Are flights from Des Moines to Washington usually delayed?
77.85% of flights on the DSM to DCA route arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, so roughly 2 in every ten arrived late. That is about the same as the average route in this record.
Which airline is most on time from Des Moines to Washington?
PSA Airlines, at 77.87% on time across 385 flights. The least punctual on the route was Republic Airways at 77.22%.
How often are DSM to DCA flights cancelled?
6.41% of scheduled flights did not operate — about 64 in every thousand. That is high enough that cancellation, not delay, is the risk worth planning around.
What is the best month to fly Des Moines to Washington?
April, when 86.4% of flights arrived on time. The worst was March at 66.1%.
When DSM to DCA flights are late, how late are they?
About 104 minutes on average across the flights that arrived more than 15 minutes behind schedule.
What these figures do and do not tell you
Everything on this page is counted from the flights that actually operated on DSM to DCA during January 2025 – August 2026, as reported by the airlines to the US Bureau of Transportation Statistics. "On time" is the federal definition: arriving at the gate within 15 minutes of the scheduled time.
A route's record is a description of the past, not a forecast. Weather, air traffic control and the aircraft's earlier flights that day drive most delays, and none of them are predictable from a historical rate. What the record does tell you is whether this route runs late more often than others, and which carrier on it has the better history — which is the part you can actually act on when you book.
Cancellations are counted separately from delays because they are a different problem for a traveller: a late flight still gets you there. How the grade is calculated →