DSM to SAN flight delays & on-time performance
Nonstop flights from Des Moines International Airport to San Diego International Airport · 1,428 miles · Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
- SAN: Airport closed. Closed, expected to reopen Oct 11 at 13:00 UTC.
Key facts
- Flights from Des Moines (DSM) to San Diego (SAN) arrived on time 83% of the time in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, better than the 78% national average.
- 0% were cancelled, and 17% arrived an hour or more late.
- Allegiant Air is the only airline reporting nonstop flights on this route.
- The largest source of delay minutes was airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling) (100%).
Which airline is most on time from DSM 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allegiant Air | 83% | 0.0% | 40 min | 16.7% | 6 |
Best time of day to fly
On-time arrival rate by scheduled departure hour (local time).
Not enough departures across different hours to compare.
Best day of the week
On-time arrival rate by day of departure.
- Monday67%0.0% cancelled
- Friday100%0.0% 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)100%
- Late-arriving aircraft0%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion0%
- Extreme weather0%
- Security0%
Why flights are cancelled
Share of cancellations by reason.
No cancellation causes recorded in this period.
DSM to SAN: common questions
- How often are DSM to SAN flights on time?
- 83% 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 Des Moines to San Diego cancelled?
- 0.0% of scheduled flights were cancelled (0 of 6).
- How long are typical delays?
- Across all flights the average arrival delay was 40 min (early arrivals count as zero). Flights that were late arrived 231 min behind schedule on average, and 16.7% of flights were an hour or more late.
- How long is taxi time at DSM?
- Flights on this route spent 12 min taxiing from the gate to takeoff on average.
Related routes
Return trip: SAN to DSM — 67% on time
More flights from Des Moines
Data: U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 (12 months). Latest month published by BTS: July 2026. Route: DSM → SAN, nonstop flights by US airlines that report to the DOT. How we calculate this.