Air CanadaAC86% on time
Flights AC8869 10:40 daily
live
Direct flights from Ottawa (YOW) to Washington (DCA): 7 nonstop departures observed each week across 1 airline. 86% of the last 7 operated flights arrived within 15 minutes of schedule. The median arrival is 11 minutes early. No cancellations were recorded across the 7 tracked flights. The nonstop covers 728 km, an estimated 1 hour 26 minutes in the air. Measured by Pro Flight Search from live flight boards at Ottawa and Washington. Updated 17 September 2026 at 19:18 UTC.
YOW
Ottawa
tracking
DCA
Washington
busy · +22
728 km · ~1h 26m est.
Runs reliable · 1 airline · 7x weekly · nonstop
86% on time
of the last 7 operated YOW → DCA flights arrived within 15 minutes
Median arrival delay is −11 min. 0 of 7 tracked legs cancelled in the sample. Will a delayed flight be cancelled? →
Median arrival−11 minacross the last 7 operated legs
Flight time~1h 26mestimated from route distance
Weekly departures7x1 direct airline on the leg
The week
scheduled departures · origin local time06121824
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
Air Canada
Each mark is a scheduled departure at its origin-local time, observed operating in the last 7 days. Today is highlighted.
Who flies it
observed on the boards · 7 daysHistory
operated legs · board outcomesActual board outcomes rather than schedules, paired departure and arrival per flight and day.
Full board history, day by day →
Airports right now
live boardsnext sweep in 120s
How the Ottawa to Washington route actually runs
Pro Flight Search records official board updates for nonstop YOW to DCA flights through the day: schedules, estimates, gate pushes and actual departures. The verdict above comes from operated flights, so it reflects what this route does rather than what the timetable promises.
Planning around a delay? Live airport delays · Weather delay risk map · Will a delayed flight be cancelled? · Do planes make up time in the air? · How we measure
Cite this data
Journalists, bloggers, and researchers may cite this page with attribution and a link to Pro Flight Search.
Suggested citation
Pro Flight Search — Ottawa (YOW) to Washington (DCA) route reliability, measured from operated flights on official airport boards.
Canonical URL
How we measure this →
https://proflightsearch.com/search-flights/YOW-DCA
YOW to DCA questions
Is YOW–DCA running on time right now?
Mostly on schedule. The arrival side at DCA is the weaker end, route health score 70/100. The airports section above carries the live status and delay window at both ends.
How long is the flight from YOW to DCA?
Great-circle distance is 728 km. With typical jet cruise speed plus taxi, climb and descent, expect roughly 81–92 min gate-to-gate on this route.
How often does YOW–DCA fly?
Air Canada runs the route with about 7 flights a week (daily). Since one carrier owns the route, a single disruption tends to ripple through the day.
What does the route health score measure?
A blend of departure-side delay at YOW and arrival-side delay at DCA, computed from rolling delay windows (refreshed every 40 minutes) with a daily-rollup fallback. Current MVFR, IFR, or LIFR endpoint weather caps the score when flight rules can limit throughput. Higher is healthier: 100 means operations are clean at both ends.
.