DFW to SAN flight delays & on-time performance
Nonstop flights from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport to San Diego International Airport · 1,171 miles · Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
- SAN: Airport closed. Closed, expected to reopen Oct 11 at 13:00 UTC.
On-time arrivals
64%
arrived < 15 min late
Cancelled
2.6%
96 flights
Avg arrival delay
26 min
69 min when late
Airlines
3
3,669 flights tracked
Key facts
- Flights from Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to San Diego (SAN) arrived on time 64% of the time in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, worse than the 78% national average.
- 2.6% were cancelled, and 13% arrived an hour or more late.
- Frontier Airlines was the most punctual airline here (66% on time); Alaska Airlines was the least (57%).
- Departures scheduled around 7am did best (85% on time); around 8pm did worst (41%).
- Tuesday was the most reliable day to fly (70% on time) and Sunday the least (60%).
- The largest source of delay minutes was late-arriving aircraft (47%).
Which airline is most on time from DFW 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frontier Airlines | 66% | 2.0% | 29 min | 14.2% | 254 |
| American Airlines | 64% | 2.8% | 25 min | 12.9% | 3,213 |
| Alaska Airlines | 57% | 0.5% | 32 min | 13.4% | 202 |
Best time of day to fly
On-time arrival rate by scheduled departure hour (local time).
- 7am85%359 flights
- 8am83%291 flights
- 9am82%77 flights
- 11am66%357 flights
- 12pm68%89 flights
- 1pm59%302 flights
- 2pm64%411 flights
- 3pm61%50 flights
- 4pm59%219 flights
- 5pm71%257 flights
- 6pm45%89 flights
- 7pm57%442 flights
- 8pm41%141 flights
- 9pm48%295 flights
- 10pm57%274 flights
Best day of the week
On-time arrival rate by day of departure.
- Monday63%2.0% cancelled
- Tuesday70%3.1% cancelled
- Wednesday69%0.2% cancelled
- Thursday62%1.6% cancelled
- Friday61%3.1% cancelled
- Saturday63%4.0% cancelled
- Sunday60%4.2% 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 aircraft47%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)31%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion13%
- Extreme weather9%
- Security0%
Why flights are cancelled
Share of cancellations by reason.
- Extreme weather86%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)9%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion4%
- Security0%
DFW to SAN: common questions
- How often are DFW to SAN flights on time?
- 64% 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 Dallas/Fort Worth to San Diego cancelled?
- 2.6% of scheduled flights were cancelled (96 of 3,669).
- How long are typical delays?
- Across all flights the average arrival delay was 26 min (early arrivals count as zero). Flights that were late arrived 69 min behind schedule on average, and 13.0% of flights were an hour or more late.
- How long is taxi time at DFW?
- Flights on this route spent 19 min taxiing from the gate to takeoff on average.
Related routes
Return trip: SAN to DFW — 77% on time
More flights from Dallas/Fort Worth
Data: U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 (12 months). Latest month published by BTS: July 2026. Route: DFW → SAN, nonstop flights by US airlines that report to the DOT. How we calculate this.