SBA to SAN flight delays & on-time performance
Nonstop flights from Santa Barbara Municipal Airport to San Diego International Airport · 192 miles · Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
- SAN: Airport closed. Closed, expected to reopen Oct 11 at 13:00 UTC.
On-time arrivals
71%
arrived < 15 min late
Cancelled
2.1%
2 flights
Avg arrival delay
14 min
40 min when late
Airlines
1
97 flights tracked
Key facts
- Flights from Santa Barbara (SBA) to San Diego (SAN) arrived on time 71% of the time in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, worse than the 78% national average.
- 2.1% were cancelled, and 6% arrived an hour or more late.
- SkyWest Airlines is the only airline reporting nonstop flights on this route.
- Departures scheduled around 6am did best (78% on time); around 4pm did worst (58%).
- Wednesday was the most reliable day to fly (92% on time) and Tuesday the least (54%).
- The largest source of delay minutes was late-arriving aircraft (35%).
Which airline is most on time from SBA 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SkyWest AirlinesRegional airline operating flights for United Express, Delta Connection, American Eagle and Alaska. | 71% | 2.1% | 14 min | 6.3% | 97 |
Best time of day to fly
On-time arrival rate by scheduled departure hour (local time).
- 6am78%48 flights
- 2pm71%21 flights
- 4pm58%24 flights
Best day of the week
On-time arrival rate by day of departure.
- Monday79%0.0% cancelled
- Tuesday54%7.1% cancelled
- Wednesday92%0.0% cancelled
- Thursday57%0.0% cancelled
- Friday64%0.0% cancelled
- Saturday71%0.0% cancelled
- Sunday77%7.1% 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 aircraft35%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)35%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion27%
- Extreme weather3%
- Security0%
Why flights are cancelled
Share of cancellations by reason.
- Air traffic control & airport congestion100%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)0%
- Extreme weather0%
- Security0%
SBA to SAN: common questions
- How often are SBA to SAN flights on time?
- 71% 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 Santa Barbara to San Diego cancelled?
- 2.1% of scheduled flights were cancelled (2 of 97).
- How long are typical delays?
- Across all flights the average arrival delay was 14 min (early arrivals count as zero). Flights that were late arrived 40 min behind schedule on average, and 6.3% of flights were an hour or more late.
- How long is taxi time at SBA?
- Flights on this route spent 23 min taxiing from the gate to takeoff on average.
Related routes
Return trip: SAN to SBA — 88% on time
More flights from Santa Barbara
Data: U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 (12 months). Latest month published by BTS: July 2026. Route: SBA → SAN, nonstop flights by US airlines that report to the DOT. How we calculate this.