IAD to SAN flight delays & on-time performance
Nonstop flights from Washington Dulles International Airport to San Diego International Airport · 2,253 miles · Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
- SAN: Airport closed. Closed, expected to reopen Oct 11 at 13:00 UTC.
On-time arrivals
84%
arrived < 15 min late
Cancelled
0.6%
8 flights
Avg arrival delay
9 min
55 min when late
Airlines
2
1,402 flights tracked
Key facts
- Flights from Washington (IAD) to San Diego (SAN) arrived on time 84% of the time in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, better than the 78% national average.
- 0.6% were cancelled, and 4% arrived an hour or more late.
- United Airlines was the most punctual airline here (88% on time); Alaska Airlines was the least (75%).
- Departures scheduled around 9am did best (96% on time); around 7pm did worst (65%).
- Saturday was the most reliable day to fly (88% on time) and Friday the least (81%).
- The largest source of delay minutes was air traffic control & airport congestion (40%).
Which airline is most on time from IAD 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines | 88% | 0.6% | 8 min | 4.1% | 1,041 |
| Alaska Airlines | 75% | 0.6% | 13 min | 4.2% | 361 |
Best time of day to fly
On-time arrival rate by scheduled departure hour (local time).
- 8am91%147 flights
- 9am96%188 flights
- 12pm87%345 flights
- 1pm63%19 flights
- 5pm82%413 flights
- 6pm79%210 flights
- 7pm65%73 flights
Best day of the week
On-time arrival rate by day of departure.
- Monday85%0.5% cancelled
- Tuesday87%0.0% cancelled
- Wednesday82%0.5% cancelled
- Thursday84%0.5% cancelled
- Friday81%0.0% cancelled
- Saturday88%0.5% cancelled
- Sunday85%1.9% cancelled
On-time trend by month
Why flights are late
Share of delay minutes by cause, as reported by airlines to the DOT.
- Air traffic control & airport congestion40%
- Late-arriving aircraft25%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)24%
- Extreme weather11%
- Security1%
Why flights are cancelled
Share of cancellations by reason.
- Extreme weather63%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)38%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion0%
- Security0%
IAD to SAN: common questions
- How often are IAD to SAN flights on time?
- 84% 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 Washington to San Diego cancelled?
- 0.6% of scheduled flights were cancelled (8 of 1,402).
- How long are typical delays?
- Across all flights the average arrival delay was 9 min (early arrivals count as zero). Flights that were late arrived 55 min behind schedule on average, and 4.1% of flights were an hour or more late.
- How long is taxi time at IAD?
- Flights on this route spent 23 min taxiing from the gate to takeoff on average.
Related routes
Return trip: SAN to IAD — 88% on time
More flights from Washington
Data: U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 (12 months). Latest month published by BTS: July 2026. Route: IAD → SAN, nonstop flights by US airlines that report to the DOT. How we calculate this.