SAN to DEN flight delays & on-time performance
Nonstop flights from San Diego International Airport to Denver International Airport · 853 miles · Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
- SAN: Airport closed. Closed, expected to reopen Oct 11 at 13:00 UTC.
On-time arrivals
79%
arrived < 15 min late
Cancelled
0.9%
56 flights
Avg arrival delay
13 min
60 min when late
Airlines
5
6,033 flights tracked
Key facts
- Flights from San Diego (SAN) to Denver (DEN) arrived on time 79% of the time in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, better than the 78% national average.
- 0.9% were cancelled, and 7% arrived an hour or more late.
- United Airlines was the most punctual airline here (86% on time); Southwest Airlines was the least (72%).
- Departures scheduled around 6am did best (89% on time); around 3pm did worst (56%).
- Saturday was the most reliable day to fly (87% on time) and Friday the least (73%).
- The largest source of delay minutes was late-arriving aircraft (49%).
Which airline is most on time from SAN to DEN?
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 | 86% | 0.7% | 10 min | 4.8% | 2,074 |
| Alaska Airlines | 85% | 1.0% | 9 min | 3.9% | 495 |
| Frontier Airlines | 82% | 1.4% | 15 min | 7.5% | 705 |
| SkyWest AirlinesRegional airline operating flights for United Express, Delta Connection, American Eagle and Alaska. | 75% | 2.1% | 13 min | 6.0% | 373 |
| Southwest Airlines | 72% | 0.8% | 17 min | 8.8% | 2,386 |
Best time of day to fly
On-time arrival rate by scheduled departure hour (local time).
- 6am89%947 flights
- 7am88%312 flights
- 8am88%560 flights
- 9am89%321 flights
- 10am84%349 flights
- 11am88%419 flights
- 12pm79%515 flights
- 1pm63%301 flights
- 2pm59%255 flights
- 3pm56%336 flights
- 4pm69%549 flights
- 5pm62%128 flights
- 6pm84%280 flights
- 7pm66%283 flights
- 8pm82%391 flights
- 9pm87%87 flights
Best day of the week
On-time arrival rate by day of departure.
- Monday79%1.0% cancelled
- Tuesday83%0.4% cancelled
- Wednesday82%0.9% cancelled
- Thursday73%1.4% cancelled
- Friday73%1.0% cancelled
- Saturday87%0.9% cancelled
- Sunday81%0.9% 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 aircraft49%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion28%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)21%
- Extreme weather2%
- Security0%
Why flights are cancelled
Share of cancellations by reason.
- Extreme weather36%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)34%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion30%
- Security0%
SAN to DEN: common questions
- How often are SAN to DEN flights on time?
- 79% 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 San Diego to Denver cancelled?
- 0.9% of scheduled flights were cancelled (56 of 6,033).
- 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 60 min behind schedule on average, and 6.7% of flights were an hour or more late.
- How long is taxi time at SAN?
- Flights on this route spent 21 min taxiing from the gate to takeoff on average.
Related routes
Return trip: DEN to SAN — 75% on time
More flights from San Diego
Data: U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 (12 months). Latest month published by BTS: July 2026. Route: SAN → DEN, nonstop flights by US airlines that report to the DOT. How we calculate this.