BNA to SMF flight delays & on-time performance
Nonstop flights from Nashville International Airport to Sacramento International Airport · 1,917 miles · Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
No FAA-reported ground stops or delays at BNA or SMF right now. Individual flights can still be delayed by the airline; check with your airline for your flight.
Key facts
- Flights from Nashville (BNA) to Sacramento (SMF) arrived on time 66% of the time in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, worse than the 78% national average.
- 0.6% were cancelled, and 6% arrived an hour or more late.
- Southwest Airlines is the only airline reporting nonstop flights on this route.
- Departures scheduled around 4pm did best (78% on time); around 2pm did worst (47%).
- Saturday was the most reliable day to fly (73% on time) and Sunday the least (59%).
- The largest source of delay minutes was airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling) (49%).
Which airline is most on time from BNA to SMF?
Ranked by on-time arrival rate. Regional airlines fly under their partner's brand (e.g. SkyWest for Delta Connection or United Express).
| Airline | On time | Cancelled | Avg delay | 1 hr+ late | Flights |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines | 66% | 0.6% | 16 min | 5.6% | 345 |
Best time of day to fly
On-time arrival rate by scheduled departure hour (local time).
- 11am53%32 flights
- 12pm73%63 flights
- 1pm73%116 flights
- 2pm47%36 flights
- 3pm68%23 flights
- 4pm78%27 flights
- 5pm48%21 flights
- 7pm62%13 flights
Best day of the week
On-time arrival rate by day of departure.
- Monday63%0.0% cancelled
- Tuesday72%0.0% cancelled
- Wednesday65%0.0% cancelled
- Thursday67%0.0% cancelled
- Friday62%0.0% cancelled
- Saturday73%1.7% cancelled
- Sunday59%2.0% cancelled
On-time trend by month
Why flights are late
Share of delay minutes by cause, as reported by airlines to the DOT.
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)49%
- Late-arriving aircraft40%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion7%
- Extreme weather4%
- Security0%
Why flights are cancelled
Share of cancellations by reason.
- Extreme weather100%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)0%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion0%
- Security0%
BNA to SMF: common questions
- How often are BNA to SMF flights on time?
- 66% of flights arrived less than 15 minutes late in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, compared with 78% for all US flights.
- How often are flights from Nashville to Sacramento cancelled?
- 0.6% of scheduled flights were cancelled (2 of 345).
- How long are typical delays?
- Across all flights the average arrival delay was 16 min (early arrivals count as zero). Flights that were late arrived 41 min behind schedule on average, and 5.6% of flights were an hour or more late.
- How long is taxi time at BNA?
- Flights on this route spent 14 min taxiing from the gate to takeoff on average.
Related routes
Return trip: SMF to BNA — 89% on time
More flights from Nashville
Data: U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 (12 months). Latest month published by BTS: July 2026. Route: BNA → SMF, nonstop flights by US airlines that report to the DOT. How we calculate this.