Washington (DCA) to Little Rock (LIT): On-Time Performance
Data through May 2026
When you fly DCA to LIT matters as much as anything else about the booking: the route swung from 87% on-time in October 2024 to just 40% in June 2025. Across the full period the route averages 67% on-time against a national 78%.
- On-time
- 67%
- arrived <15 min late
- Avg delay
- 24 min
- completed flights
- Cancelled
- 2.3%
- Flights/day
- 1.0
- last 12 months
- Duration
- 2h 48m
- scheduled
- Distance
- 888 mi
Monthly on-time trend
Best time to fly from DCA to LIT
Departure time makes little difference on this route — on-time rates stay within a few points across the day.
By day of week
| Day | On-time | Avg delay |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | 71% | 23 min |
| Tuesday | 67% | 26 min |
| Wednesday | 65% | 22 min |
| Thursday | 65% | 25 min |
| Fridaybest | 74% | 21 min |
| Saturday | 73% | 19 min |
| Sunday | 57% | 28 min |
What causes delays on this route
Share of total delay minutes by cause, as reported by carriers to the US DOT.
- Late-arriving aircraft37%
- Airline operations22%
- National airspace system27%
- Weather15%
Frequently asked questions
- How often are flights from DCA to LIT delayed?
- 33% of DCA–LIT flights arrived 15 or more minutes late (the US DOT definition of a delay) between 2024-06 and 2026-05. The average arrival delay across completed flights was 24 minutes.
- What is the best time of day to fly from DCA to LIT?
- Departures around 4 p.m. have the best record (70% on-time), while departures around 5 p.m. have the worst (67%). As on most US routes, delays accumulate through the day, so earlier flights are generally safer.
- How long is the flight from DCA to LIT?
- The scheduled DCA–LIT flight time averages 2h 48m over 888 miles. Actual arrival times vary — flights on this route land 15+ minutes late 33% of the time.
- How often are DCA to LIT flights cancelled?
- 2.3% of scheduled flights on this route were cancelled between 2024-06 and 2026-05, slightly above the national rate of 1.6%.
- What is the worst month to fly from DCA to LIT?
- June 2025 was the roughest month in this dataset, with only 40% of arrivals on time. The best was October 2024 at 87%. If your dates are flexible, that 47-point gap is worth planning around.
Explore related pages
More routes from DCA
Based on 728 flights, 2024-06–2026-05. Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Updated 2026-07-01.