FAI to SEA flight delays & on-time performance
Nonstop flights from Fairbanks International Airport to Seattle–Tacoma International Airport · 1,533 miles · Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
No FAA-reported ground stops or delays at FAI or SEA right now. Individual flights can still be delayed by the airline; check with your airline for your flight.
Key facts
- Flights from Fairbanks (FAI) to Seattle (SEA) arrived on time 82% of the time in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, better than the 78% national average.
- 1% were cancelled, and 5% arrived an hour or more late.
- Alaska Airlines was the most punctual airline here (84% on time); Delta Air Lines was the least (76%).
- Departures scheduled around 12am did best (89% on time); around 2am did worst (76%).
- Saturday was the most reliable day to fly (86% on time) and Wednesday the least (79%).
- The largest source of delay minutes was airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling) (41%).
Which airline is most on time from FAI to SEA?
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% | 0.6% | 9 min | 3.6% | 1,808 |
| Delta Air Lines | 76% | 2.5% | 26 min | 8.1% | 482 |
Best time of day to fly
On-time arrival rate by scheduled departure hour (local time).
- 12am89%148 flights
- 1am80%475 flights
- 2am76%226 flights
- 5am86%297 flights
- 6am77%67 flights
- 8am84%138 flights
- 9am96%27 flights
- 10am84%64 flights
- 11am79%70 flights
- 12pm88%294 flights
- 2pm80%55 flights
- 3pm77%338 flights
- 4pm84%91 flights
Best day of the week
On-time arrival rate by day of departure.
- Monday81%0.9% cancelled
- Tuesday84%0.9% cancelled
- Wednesday79%0.9% cancelled
- Thursday80%0.3% cancelled
- Friday80%1.2% cancelled
- Saturday86%1.5% cancelled
- Sunday85%1.2% 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%
- Late-arriving aircraft38%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion18%
- Extreme weather3%
- Security0%
Why flights are cancelled
Share of cancellations by reason.
- Extreme weather65%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)35%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion0%
- Security0%
FAI to SEA: common questions
- How often are FAI to SEA flights on time?
- 82% 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 Fairbanks to Seattle cancelled?
- 1.0% of scheduled flights were cancelled (23 of 2,290).
- How long are typical delays?
- Across all flights the average arrival delay was 13 min (early arrivals count as zero). Flights that were late arrived 67 min behind schedule on average, and 4.5% of flights were an hour or more late.
- How long is taxi time at FAI?
- Flights on this route spent 16 min taxiing from the gate to takeoff on average.
Related routes
Data: U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 (12 months). Latest month published by BTS: July 2026. Route: FAI → SEA, nonstop flights by US airlines that report to the DOT. How we calculate this.