ORF to DCA flight delays
Norfolk, VA (ORF) Washington, VA (DCA) · 142 miles
1,041 flights · January 2025 – August 2026 · US Bureau of Transportation Statistics
67.23%
Arrived on time
Within 15 minutes of schedule
3.55%
Cancelled
Share of scheduled flights
101 min
When late, late by
Average across delayed arrivals
34 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: 3.55% 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 September it ran 24.9 points more punctual than in February — 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.
This route does worse than its own airport. ORF as a whole runs 13.1 points more punctual than these flights, which points at something specific to the route — the time of day it is scheduled, or the aircraft that feed it — rather than the airport.
This is a late route. Flights from Norfolk to Washington miss their scheduled arrival often enough that a tight connection at the far end is a connection at risk.
Which airline should you fly on this route?
Over January 2025 – August 2026, PSA Airlines arrived on time most often on ORF to DCA. Flights ran closest to schedule in September and worst in February.
Every airline on ORF 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 | 1,013 | 67.52% | 3.36% | 103 min | F |
| Republic Airways | 24 | 52.38% | 12.5% | 46 min | — |
| Envoy Air | 4 | 75% | 0% | 40 min | — |
Month by month
Share of flights that arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, by month flown.
The return leg
DCA to ORF Washington back to Norfolk 63.88% on time FOther routes from Norfolk
Common questions
Are flights from Norfolk to Washington usually delayed?
67.23% of flights on the ORF to DCA route arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, so roughly 3 in every ten arrived late. That is worse than the average route in this record.
Which airlines fly from Norfolk to Washington?
Only PSA Airlines appears in the published record on this route, with 1,013 flights and 67.52% arriving on time.
How often are ORF to DCA flights cancelled?
3.55% of scheduled flights did not operate — about 36 in every thousand. That is high enough that cancellation, not delay, is the risk worth planning around.
What is the best month to fly Norfolk to Washington?
September, when 79.8% of flights arrived on time. The worst was February at 54.9%.
When ORF to DCA flights are late, how late are they?
About 101 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 ORF 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 →