DCA → SANWashington to San Diego

live

Direct flights from Washington (DCA) to San Diego (SAN): 7 nonstop departures observed each week across 1 airline. 71% of the last 7 operated flights arrived within 15 minutes of schedule. The median arrival is 16 minutes early. No cancellations were recorded across the 7 tracked flights. The nonstop covers 3,655 km, an estimated 5 hours 11 minutes in the air. Measured by Pro Flight Search from live flight boards at Washington and San Diego. Updated 23 October 2026 at 19:18 UTC.

Today, DCA → SAN

Fri 23 Oct · local times
  1. 10:59 AS15Alaska Airlines Left 10:55 Landed 13:08 −29

Checked DCA board 22:19 · SAN board 20:06

DCA Washington smooth · +10
SAN San Diego busy · +22
3,655 km · ~5h 11m est.
departs 10:597x weekly
Runs mixed · 1 airline · 7x weekly · nonstop
71% on time

of the last 7 operated DCA → SAN flights arrived within 15 minutes

Median arrival delay is −16 min. 0 of 7 tracked legs cancelled in the sample. Will a delayed flight be cancelled? →

Median arrival−16 minacross the last 7 operated legs
Flight time~5h 11mestimated from route distance
Weekly departures7x1 direct airline on the leg

The week

scheduled departures · origin local time
06121824
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
Alaska Airlines

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 days
Alaska AirlinesAS71% on time

Flights AS15 10:59 daily

History

operated legs · board outcomes
10-23AS15dep −4 → arr−29
10-22AS15dep +73 → arr+34
10-21AS15dep +5 → arr−31
10-20AS15dep +20 → arr−30
10-19AS15dep +82 → arr+47
10-18AS15dep +50 → arr+8
10-17AS15dep +19 → arr−16

Actual board outcomes rather than schedules, paired departure and arrival per flight and day.

Full board history, day by day →

Airports right now

live boards
DCAWashington +10 min smooth 🌤 few clouds · ESE 8 kt Full DCA delay board →
SANSan Diego +22 min busy 🌤 mostly cloudy · WNW 3 kt Full SAN delay board →

Weather lens

Current conditions put the pressure at SAN: 54% odds of a 15+ minute delay and around +19 min expected when it bites, measured from this route's own weather-matched delay history. See live delays → · Weather risk by airport →

How the Washington to San Diego route actually runs

Pro Flight Search records official board updates for nonstop DCA to SAN 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 — Washington (DCA) to San Diego (SAN) route reliability, measured from operated flights on official airport boards.

Canonical URL
https://proflightsearch.com/search-flights/DCA-SAN
How we measure this →

DCA to SAN questions

Is DCA–SAN running on time right now?

Mostly on schedule. The arrival side at SAN is the weaker end, route health score 78/100. The airports section above carries the live status and delay window at both ends.

How long is the flight from DCA to SAN?

Great-circle distance is 3,655 km. With typical jet cruise speed plus taxi, climb and descent, expect roughly 288–343 min gate-to-gate on this route.

How often does DCA–SAN fly?

Alaska Airlines 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 DCA and arrival-side delay at SAN, 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.