DEN to SAN flight delays & on-time performance
Nonstop flights from Denver International Airport to San Diego International Airport · 853 miles · Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
- SAN: Airport closed. Closed, expected to reopen Oct 11 at 13:00 UTC.
On-time arrivals
75%
arrived < 15 min late
Cancelled
0.7%
40 flights
Avg arrival delay
15 min
55 min when late
Airlines
5
6,035 flights tracked
Key facts
- Flights from Denver (DEN) to San Diego (SAN) arrived on time 75% of the time in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, worse than the 78% national average.
- 0.7% were cancelled, and 7% arrived an hour or more late.
- Alaska Airlines was the most punctual airline here (84% on time); Southwest Airlines was the least (69%).
- Departures scheduled around 6am did best (91% on time); around 7pm did worst (57%).
- Tuesday was the most reliable day to fly (82% on time) and Thursday the least (69%).
- The largest source of delay minutes was late-arriving aircraft (42%).
Which airline is most on time from DEN to SAN?
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska Airlines | 84% | 1.2% | 10 min | 4.9% | 495 |
| Frontier Airlines | 81% | 1.0% | 14 min | 6.3% | 704 |
| United Airlines | 80% | 0.4% | 12 min | 6.4% | 2,074 |
| SkyWest AirlinesRegional airline operating flights for United Express, Delta Connection, American Eagle and Alaska. | 71% | 1.6% | 14 min | 6.8% | 374 |
| Southwest Airlines | 69% | 0.5% | 18 min | 8.8% | 2,388 |
Best time of day to fly
On-time arrival rate by scheduled departure hour (local time).
- 5am95%64 flights
- 6am91%298 flights
- 7am91%723 flights
- 8am88%313 flights
- 9am78%190 flights
- 10am81%158 flights
- 11am77%569 flights
- 12pm77%229 flights
- 1pm84%519 flights
- 2pm70%142 flights
- 3pm82%413 flights
- 4pm59%281 flights
- 5pm65%143 flights
- 6pm66%291 flights
- 7pm57%646 flights
- 8pm63%384 flights
- 9pm62%377 flights
- 10pm76%293 flights
Best day of the week
On-time arrival rate by day of departure.
- Monday75%0.2% cancelled
- Tuesday82%0.6% cancelled
- Wednesday78%1.0% cancelled
- Thursday69%1.0% cancelled
- Friday72%0.4% cancelled
- Saturday81%0.5% cancelled
- Sunday72%0.9% cancelled
On-time trend by month
Why flights are late
Share of delay minutes by cause, as reported by airlines to the DOT.
- Late-arriving aircraft42%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)29%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion28%
- Extreme weather1%
- Security0%
Why flights are cancelled
Share of cancellations by reason.
- Air traffic control & airport congestion40%
- Extreme weather35%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)25%
- Security0%
DEN to SAN: common questions
- How often are DEN to SAN flights on time?
- 75% 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 Denver to San Diego cancelled?
- 0.7% of scheduled flights were cancelled (40 of 6,035).
- How long are typical delays?
- Across all flights the average arrival delay was 15 min (early arrivals count as zero). Flights that were late arrived 55 min behind schedule on average, and 7.2% of flights were an hour or more late.
- How long is taxi time at DEN?
- Flights on this route spent 18 min taxiing from the gate to takeoff on average.
Related routes
Return trip: SAN to DEN — 79% on time
More flights from Denver
Data: U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 (12 months). Latest month published by BTS: July 2026. Route: DEN → SAN, nonstop flights by US airlines that report to the DOT. How we calculate this.