SAN to SFO flight delays & on-time performance
Nonstop flights from San Diego International Airport to San Francisco International Airport · 447 miles · Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
- SAN: Airport closed. Closed, expected to reopen Oct 11 at 13:00 UTC.
On-time arrivals
62%
arrived < 15 min late
Cancelled
1.3%
86 flights
Avg arrival delay
24 min
61 min when late
Airlines
5
6,660 flights tracked
Key facts
- Flights from San Diego (SAN) to San Francisco (SFO) arrived on time 62% of the time in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, worse than the 78% national average.
- 1.3% were cancelled, and 13% arrived an hour or more late.
- United Airlines was the most punctual airline here (69% on time); Southwest Airlines was the least (55%).
- Departures scheduled around 6am did best (92% on time); around 7pm did worst (43%).
- Saturday was the most reliable day to fly (73% on time) and Friday the least (57%).
- The largest source of delay minutes was air traffic control & airport congestion (51%).
Which airline is most on time from SAN to SFO?
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 | 69% | 0.5% | 19 min | 9.8% | 2,633 |
| SkyWest AirlinesRegional airline operating flights for United Express, Delta Connection, American Eagle and Alaska. | 65% | 1.8% | 23 min | 13.7% | 1,517 |
| Southwest Airlines | 55% | 1.2% | 28 min | 16.3% | 2,001 |
| Alaska Airlines | 52% | 1.3% | 27 min | 17.1% | 303 |
| Frontier Airlines | 43% | 7.3% | 45 min | 26.2% | 206 |
Best time of day to fly
On-time arrival rate by scheduled departure hour (local time).
- 6am92%548 flights
- 7am61%609 flights
- 8am59%308 flights
- 9am61%517 flights
- 10am61%388 flights
- 11am61%460 flights
- 12pm73%356 flights
- 1pm61%474 flights
- 2pm54%144 flights
- 3pm62%157 flights
- 4pm73%667 flights
- 5pm68%374 flights
- 6pm54%299 flights
- 7pm43%650 flights
- 8pm50%466 flights
- 9pm36%150 flights
- 10pm86%93 flights
Best day of the week
On-time arrival rate by day of departure.
- Monday60%1.1% cancelled
- Tuesday72%0.8% cancelled
- Wednesday62%1.9% cancelled
- Thursday57%2.3% cancelled
- Friday57%1.3% cancelled
- Saturday73%0.5% cancelled
- Sunday61%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.
- Air traffic control & airport congestion51%
- Late-arriving aircraft33%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)14%
- Extreme weather2%
- Security0%
Why flights are cancelled
Share of cancellations by reason.
- Air traffic control & airport congestion44%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)31%
- Extreme weather24%
- Security0%
SAN to SFO: common questions
- How often are SAN to SFO flights on time?
- 62% 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 San Francisco cancelled?
- 1.3% of scheduled flights were cancelled (86 of 6,660).
- How long are typical delays?
- Across all flights the average arrival delay was 24 min (early arrivals count as zero). Flights that were late arrived 61 min behind schedule on average, and 13.5% of flights were an hour or more late.
- How long is taxi time at SAN?
- Flights on this route spent 26 min taxiing from the gate to takeoff on average.
Related routes
Return trip: SFO to SAN — 65% 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 → SFO, nonstop flights by US airlines that report to the DOT. How we calculate this.