DTW to SAN flight delays & on-time performance
Nonstop flights from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport to San Diego International Airport · 1,956 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
0.9%
12 flights
Avg arrival delay
16 min
59 min when late
Airlines
2
1,290 flights tracked
Key facts
- Flights from Detroit (DTW) to San Diego (SAN) arrived on time 75% of the time in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, worse than the 78% national average.
- 0.9% were cancelled, and 7% arrived an hour or more late.
- Departures scheduled around 8am did best (82% on time); around 8pm did worst (60%).
- Wednesday was the most reliable day to fly (81% on time) and Friday the least (70%).
- The largest source of delay minutes was airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling) (41%).
Which airline is most on time from DTW 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spirit Airlines | 89% | 2.7% | 4 min | 0.0% | 37 |
| Delta Air Lines | 75% | 0.9% | 16 min | 7.3% | 1,253 |
Best time of day to fly
On-time arrival rate by scheduled departure hour (local time).
- 8am82%365 flights
- 9am89%30 flights
- 12pm81%260 flights
- 3pm84%31 flights
- 4pm73%329 flights
- 8pm60%243 flights
- 9pm71%21 flights
Best day of the week
On-time arrival rate by day of departure.
- Monday74%2.0% cancelled
- Tuesday80%0.0% cancelled
- Wednesday81%0.0% cancelled
- Thursday71%0.5% cancelled
- Friday70%0.0% cancelled
- Saturday80%2.5% cancelled
- Sunday73%1.5% 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)41%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion29%
- Late-arriving aircraft26%
- Extreme weather4%
- Security0%
Why flights are cancelled
Share of cancellations by reason.
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)83%
- Extreme weather17%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion0%
- Security0%
DTW to SAN: common questions
- How often are DTW 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 Detroit to San Diego cancelled?
- 0.9% of scheduled flights were cancelled (12 of 1,290).
- 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 59 min behind schedule on average, and 7.1% of flights were an hour or more late.
- How long is taxi time at DTW?
- Flights on this route spent 19 min taxiing from the gate to takeoff on average.
Related routes
Return trip: SAN to DTW — 85% on time
More flights from Detroit
Data: U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 (12 months). Latest month published by BTS: July 2026. Route: DTW → SAN, nonstop flights by US airlines that report to the DOT. How we calculate this.