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Rankings / Routes / Atlanta to Washington, DC

2025 flights

Atlanta to Washington, DC

Between Atlanta and Washington, DC, 3.9 million passengers flew nonstop in 2025, on 32 thousand flights of about 554 miles and 1.4 hours in the air. The average passenger accounted for about 104 kg of CO2 from the fuel burned, from 71 kg on Spirit Airlines to 214 kg on PSA Airlines.

Southwest's flights between Atlanta and Washington are the emptiest of the big airlines: 66% full, against 81% for Delta. That's why its 112 kg per passenger comes out 11% above Delta's 100 kg even though the aircraft are a similar size, 157 seats against 168.

The budget airlines are lower again: Frontier at 73 kg and Spirit at 71 kg, about 30% below Delta, on aircraft of 207 and 210 seats. The route has lost 11% of its passengers since 2019, from 4.4 to 3.9 million.

  • 104 kgCO2 per passenger, average
  • 554 milesabout 1.4 hours in the air
  • 3.9 millionpassengers in 2025
  • 77%of seats filled

CO2 per passenger, airline by airline

CO2 per passenger by airline, Atlanta to Washington, DCBar chart of kilograms of CO2 per passenger on each airline between Atlanta and Washington, DC in 2025.050100150200Spirit Airlines71 kgFrontier Airlines73 kgDelta Air Lines100 kgSouthwest Airlines112 kgUnited Airlines115 kgRepublic Airways176 kgPSA Airlines214 kg
CO2 per passenger by airline, Atlanta to Washington, DCBar chart of kilograms of CO2 per passenger on each airline between Atlanta and Washington, DC in 2025.0100200Spirit Airlines71 kgFrontier Airlines73 kgDelta Air Lines100 kgSouthwest Airlines112 kgUnited Airlines115 kgRepublic Airways176 kgPSA Airlines214 kg
Kilograms of CO2 per passenger, one way, 2025. Fuel burned only. Less is better.
Atlanta to Washington, DC by airline, 2025
AirlineShare of passengersFlights (thousands)Main aircraftSeats per flightSeats filledkg CO2 per passenger
Delta Air Lines61%17.4Airbus A320-200, Airbus A32116881%100
Southwest Airlines16%6.0Boeing 737-700, Boeing 737 MAX 815766%112
Frontier Airlines10%2.4Airbus A320neo, Airbus A321neo20777%73
United Airlines6%2.2Airbus A319, Boeing 737-70014571%115
Spirit Airlines3%0.7Airbus A321neo, Airbus A320neo21082%71
PSA Airlines2%1.86873%214
Republic Airways1%1.0Embraer 1757668%176

What explains the differences

It's number 13 of the 100 busiest city pairs by passengers, and number 82 for the lowest CO2 per mile flown (0.19 kg per passenger-mile, number 1 being the lowest). A typical route of 554 miles in this set comes out at about 97 kg, so this one is 7.3% above it.

The flights use more than one pair of airports: ATL to BWI (41%), ATL to DCA (37%), ATL to IAD (23%). The figures here cover all of them.

The airlines on this route differ by 203% per passenger. Spirit Airlines burned 1,250 gallons per flight and 173 passengers on each, and PSA Airlines 1,078 gallons and 49 passengers. The gap comes from how many passengers share each flight, not from fuel burned per flight. Spirit Airlines flew 82% full here against 73% for PSA Airlines.

For comparison, the EPA default factor for a flight of this length (0.129 kg per passenger-mile) would give 71 kg. The EPA figure is a national average for flights of that length. The measured figure for this route is 45% higher.

2019 compared with 2025

In 2019 the route carried 4.4 million passengers on 36 thousand flights. In 2025 it carried 3.9 million, down 11%, on 32 thousand flights, down 11%. The average flight had 150 seats then and 158 now, and 81% of them were filled against 77%.

CO2 per passenger was 107 kg in 2019 and 104 kg in 2025, down 3.5%. Fuel burned per flight was down 3.6% (1,339 gallons to 1,291) and passengers per flight were down 0.1% (121 to 121). The distance flown was about the same (555 miles then, 554 now).

Delta Air Lines led in both years, with 65% of passengers in 2019 and 61% in 2025. United Airlines gained the most share, 2% to 6%. Delta Air Lines lost the most, 65% to 61%. Frontier Airlines and PSA Airlines didn't have 1% of the passengers in 2019 and now together carry 12%. Mesa Airlines and American Airlines no longer reach 1% of passengers, having had 4% in 2019.

Airline by airline, Spirit Airlines went from 75 kg to 71 kg per passenger (181 seats per flight to 210, main aircraft Airbus A320-200 then and Airbus A321neo now); Southwest Airlines went from 109 kg to 112 kg per passenger (149 seats per flight to 157, main aircraft Boeing 737-700 in both years).

Atlanta to Washington, DC, 2019 and 2025
Measure20192025
Passengers (thousands)4,4033,915
Flights (thousands)36.232.3
Seats filled81%77%
Gallons of fuel per flight1,3391,291
kg CO2 per passenger107104
CO2 per passenger by airline, 2019 and 2025, Atlanta to Washington, DCBar chart of kilograms of CO2 per passenger on Atlanta to Washington, DC for each major airline in 2019 and in 2025.0255075100Delta Air Lines 2019105 kgDelta Air Lines 2025100 kgSouthwest Airlines 2019109 kgSouthwest Airlines 2025112 kgUnited Airlines 2019113 kgUnited Airlines 2025115 kgSpirit Airlines 201975 kgSpirit Airlines 202571 kg
CO2 per passenger by airline, 2019 and 2025, Atlanta to Washington, DCBar chart of kilograms of CO2 per passenger on Atlanta to Washington, DC for each major airline in 2019 and in 2025.050100Delta Air Lines 2019105 kgDelta Air Lines 2025100 kgSouthwest Airlines 2019109 kgSouthwest Airlines 2025112 kgUnited Airlines 2019113 kgUnited Airlines 2025115 kgSpirit Airlines 201975 kgSpirit Airlines 202571 kg
Kilograms of CO2 per passenger on the airlines that flew the route in both years. 2019 figures use that year's filings and estimated aircraft fuel rates, with type-average replacements for missing or outlying filings as described in the methodology. Less is better.

Atlanta to Washington, DC and back: time in the air

The time in the air is almost the same each way: 80 minutes on average from Atlanta to Washington, DC and 85 minutes back. A difference of 5 minutes is within what routing and congestion alone produce.

Time in the air by direction, 2025
DirectionAverage minutes in the airFlights
Washington, DC to Atlanta84.816,091
Atlanta to Washington, DC80.116,171

Fly or drive

Driving is about 648 miles by road, which we estimate as 1.17 times the straight-line distance. An average car emits about 193 kg of CO2 on the trip, at the EPA figure of 0.297 kg per vehicle-mile. Alone, that's 86% more than the 104 kg for a passenger on the flight.

With 2 people in the car, driving comes out lower per person than the flight (96 kg each, and 48 kg each for four). A larger SUV or pickup (0.394 kg per mile) would emit about 255 kg per vehicle.

CO2 per person by way of travel, Atlanta to Washington, DCBar chart of kilograms of CO2 per person flying, driving or taking the train between Atlanta and Washington, DC.050100150200Flight, average104 kgCar, driver alone193 kgCar, 2 people96 kgCar, 4 people48 kg
CO2 per person by way of travel, Atlanta to Washington, DCBar chart of kilograms of CO2 per person flying, driving or taking the train between Atlanta and Washington, DC.0100200Flight, average104 kgCar, driver alone193 kgCar, 2 people96 kgCar, 4 people48 kg
CO2 per person, Atlanta to Washington, DC. Driving figures divide one car's emissions between the people in it. See flying vs driving for other trip lengths.

Flights are listed under the airline that operates them, so regional flying appears under the regional. How the CO2 and drive figures are worked out is in the methodology.

What to take from it

'Washington' is three airports here, and the biggest isn't the one you'd guess: Baltimore handles 41% of the passengers, Reagan National 37% and Dulles 23%.

The regional flights, PSA at 214 kg and Republic at 176 kg, are the highest by a long way, at around twice Delta's figure. Driving is 648 road miles: alone it's 193 kg, with three people 64 kg each, 38% below the flight.

Routes with shared cities or nearby CO2 per mile

New York to Atlanta124 kg CO2 per passenger over 758 milesWashington, DC to Boston100 kg CO2 per passenger over 383 milesAtlanta to Miami96 kg CO2 per passenger over 587 milesMiami to Washington, DC144 kg CO2 per passenger over 921 milesSan Francisco to Portland103 kg CO2 per passenger over 554 milesDenver to Salt Lake City73 kg CO2 per passenger over 391 milesNew York to Nashville150 kg CO2 per passenger over 761 milesChicago to Washington, DC121 kg CO2 per passenger over 609 miles

Airports on this route: Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Washington Dulles International Airport.

Airport and airline references

Source: US Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), T-100 traffic and Schedule T-2 fuel filings; US EPA transport emission factors. See the methodology.

See all routes, or how the airlines compare overall on the airline pages.