SFO to SAN flight delays & on-time performance
Nonstop flights from San Francisco International Airport to San Diego International Airport · 447 miles · Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
- SAN: Airport closed. Closed, expected to reopen Oct 11 at 13:00 UTC.
On-time arrivals
65%
arrived < 15 min late
Cancelled
1.2%
81 flights
Avg arrival delay
22 min
60 min when late
Airlines
5
6,621 flights tracked
Key facts
- Flights from San Francisco (SFO) to San Diego (SAN) arrived on time 65% of the time in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, worse than the 78% national average.
- 1.2% were cancelled, and 12% arrived an hour or more late.
- United Airlines was the most punctual airline here (75% on time); Southwest Airlines was the least (51%).
- Departures scheduled around 6am did best (92% on time); around 3pm did worst (45%).
- Saturday was the most reliable day to fly (78% on time) and Friday the least (57%).
- The largest source of delay minutes was late-arriving aircraft (50%).
Which airline is most on time from SFO 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska Airlines | 87% | 1.0% | 8 min | 4.0% | 304 |
| United Airlines | 75% | 0.4% | 15 min | 7.3% | 2,633 |
| SkyWest AirlinesRegional airline operating flights for United Express, Delta Connection, American Eagle and Alaska. | 64% | 2.2% | 22 min | 12.4% | 1,477 |
| Frontier Airlines | 52% | 3.9% | 41 min | 21.7% | 206 |
| Southwest Airlines | 51% | 1.3% | 32 min | 19.2% | 2,001 |
Best time of day to fly
On-time arrival rate by scheduled departure hour (local time).
- 5am84%67 flights
- 6am92%523 flights
- 7am90%479 flights
- 8am81%393 flights
- 9am76%350 flights
- 10am49%532 flights
- 11am57%634 flights
- 12pm58%183 flights
- 1pm60%414 flights
- 2pm57%391 flights
- 3pm45%210 flights
- 4pm55%558 flights
- 5pm66%217 flights
- 6pm54%335 flights
- 7pm62%504 flights
- 8pm52%179 flights
- 9pm59%273 flights
- 10pm66%379 flights
Best day of the week
On-time arrival rate by day of departure.
- Monday58%1.5% cancelled
- Tuesday74%0.8% cancelled
- Wednesday67%1.9% cancelled
- Thursday59%1.8% cancelled
- Friday57%1.0% cancelled
- Saturday78%0.5% cancelled
- Sunday66%0.8% 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 aircraft50%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion29%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)20%
- Extreme weather1%
- Security0%
Why flights are cancelled
Share of cancellations by reason.
- Air traffic control & airport congestion54%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)27%
- Extreme weather19%
- Security0%
SFO to SAN: common questions
- How often are SFO to SAN flights on time?
- 65% 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 Francisco to San Diego cancelled?
- 1.2% of scheduled flights were cancelled (81 of 6,621).
- How long are typical delays?
- Across all flights the average arrival delay was 22 min (early arrivals count as zero). Flights that were late arrived 60 min behind schedule on average, and 12.3% of flights were an hour or more late.
- How long is taxi time at SFO?
- Flights on this route spent 24 min taxiing from the gate to takeoff on average.
Related routes
Return trip: SAN to SFO — 62% on time
More flights from San Francisco
Data: U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 (12 months). Latest month published by BTS: July 2026. Route: SFO → SAN, nonstop flights by US airlines that report to the DOT. How we calculate this.