SAN to SMF flight delays & on-time performance
Nonstop flights from San Diego International Airport to Sacramento International Airport · 480 miles · Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
- SAN: Airport closed. Closed, expected to reopen Oct 11 at 13:00 UTC.
On-time arrivals
76%
arrived < 15 min late
Cancelled
0.9%
44 flights
Avg arrival delay
12 min
47 min when late
Airlines
3
5,174 flights tracked
Key facts
- Flights from San Diego (SAN) to Sacramento (SMF) arrived on time 76% of the time in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, worse than the 78% national average.
- 0.9% were cancelled, and 6% arrived an hour or more late.
- SkyWest Airlines was the most punctual airline here (80% on time); Southwest Airlines was the least (75%).
- Departures scheduled around 6am did best (95% on time); around 6pm did worst (63%).
- Tuesday was the most reliable day to fly (86% on time) and Friday the least (67%).
- The largest source of delay minutes was late-arriving aircraft (69%).
Which airline is most on time from SAN to SMF?
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. | 80% | 1.5% | 11 min | 5.4% | 1,158 |
| Alaska Airlines | 76% | 2.3% | 11 min | 6.6% | 216 |
| Southwest Airlines | 75% | 0.6% | 13 min | 5.8% | 3,800 |
Best time of day to fly
On-time arrival rate by scheduled departure hour (local time).
- 6am95%240 flights
- 7am94%249 flights
- 8am92%351 flights
- 9am84%442 flights
- 10am87%337 flights
- 11am83%369 flights
- 12pm70%398 flights
- 1pm67%254 flights
- 2pm72%200 flights
- 3pm67%325 flights
- 4pm67%309 flights
- 5pm74%410 flights
- 6pm63%273 flights
- 7pm68%313 flights
- 8pm69%236 flights
- 9pm64%418 flights
Best day of the week
On-time arrival rate by day of departure.
- Monday74%0.5% cancelled
- Tuesday86%0.4% cancelled
- Wednesday84%0.4% cancelled
- Thursday73%1.3% cancelled
- Friday67%1.1% cancelled
- Saturday83%0.4% cancelled
- Sunday69%1.6% 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 aircraft69%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)21%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion9%
- Extreme weather1%
- Security1%
Why flights are cancelled
Share of cancellations by reason.
- Air traffic control & airport congestion45%
- Extreme weather36%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)18%
- Security0%
SAN to SMF: common questions
- How often are SAN to SMF flights on time?
- 76% 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 Sacramento cancelled?
- 0.9% of scheduled flights were cancelled (44 of 5,174).
- How long are typical delays?
- Across all flights the average arrival delay was 12 min (early arrivals count as zero). Flights that were late arrived 47 min behind schedule on average, and 5.7% of flights were an hour or more late.
- How long is taxi time at SAN?
- Flights on this route spent 19 min taxiing from the gate to takeoff on average.
Related routes
Return trip: SMF to SAN — 72% 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 → SMF, nonstop flights by US airlines that report to the DOT. How we calculate this.