SAN to SBA flight delays & on-time performance
Nonstop flights from San Diego International Airport to Santa Barbara Municipal Airport · 192 miles · Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
- SAN: Airport closed. Closed, expected to reopen Oct 11 at 13:00 UTC.
On-time arrivals
88%
arrived < 15 min late
Cancelled
2.0%
2 flights
Avg arrival delay
7 min
49 min when late
Airlines
1
98 flights tracked
Key facts
- Flights from San Diego (SAN) to Santa Barbara (SBA) arrived on time 88% of the time in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, better than the 78% national average.
- 2% were cancelled, and 2% arrived an hour or more late.
- SkyWest Airlines is the only airline reporting nonstop flights on this route.
- Departures scheduled around 10pm did best (95% on time); around 1pm did worst (80%).
- Saturday was the most reliable day to fly (100% on time) and Thursday the least (71%).
- The largest source of delay minutes was late-arriving aircraft (80%).
Which airline is most on time from SAN to SBA?
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SkyWest AirlinesRegional airline operating flights for United Express, Delta Connection, American Eagle and Alaska. | 88% | 2.0% | 7 min | 2.1% | 98 |
Best time of day to fly
On-time arrival rate by scheduled departure hour (local time).
- 1pm80%25 flights
- 2pm83%24 flights
- 10pm95%43 flights
Best day of the week
On-time arrival rate by day of departure.
- Monday85%7.1% cancelled
- Tuesday86%0.0% cancelled
- Wednesday93%0.0% cancelled
- Thursday71%0.0% cancelled
- Friday86%0.0% cancelled
- Saturday100%7.1% cancelled
- Sunday93%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.
- Late-arriving aircraft80%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion20%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)0%
- Extreme weather0%
- Security0%
Why flights are cancelled
Share of cancellations by reason.
- Air traffic control & airport congestion100%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)0%
- Extreme weather0%
- Security0%
SAN to SBA: common questions
- How often are SAN to SBA flights on time?
- 88% 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 Santa Barbara cancelled?
- 2.0% of scheduled flights were cancelled (2 of 98).
- How long are typical delays?
- Across all flights the average arrival delay was 7 min (early arrivals count as zero). Flights that were late arrived 49 min behind schedule on average, and 2.1% of flights were an hour or more late.
- How long is taxi time at SAN?
- Flights on this route spent 22 min taxiing from the gate to takeoff on average.
Related routes
Return trip: SBA to SAN — 71% 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 → SBA, nonstop flights by US airlines that report to the DOT. How we calculate this.