SLC to SMF flight delays & on-time performance
Nonstop flights from Salt Lake City International Airport to Sacramento International Airport · 532 miles · Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
No FAA-reported ground stops or delays at SLC or SMF right now. Individual flights can still be delayed by the airline; check with your airline for your flight.
Key facts
- Flights from Salt Lake City (SLC) to Sacramento (SMF) arrived on time 86% of the time in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, better than the 78% national average.
- 0.9% were cancelled, and 5% arrived an hour or more late.
- Delta Air Lines was the most punctual airline here (87% on time); Southwest Airlines was the least (82%).
- Departures scheduled around 7am did best (97% on time); around 8pm did worst (56%).
- Tuesday was the most reliable day to fly (89% on time) and Friday the least (83%).
- The largest source of delay minutes was airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling) (54%).
Which airline is most on time from SLC 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines | 87% | 1.1% | 9 min | 5.0% | 1,510 |
| SkyWest AirlinesRegional airline operating flights for United Express, Delta Connection, American Eagle and Alaska. | 85% | 0.0% | 9 min | 4.1% | 73 |
| Southwest Airlines | 82% | 0.3% | 12 min | 5.9% | 577 |
Best time of day to fly
On-time arrival rate by scheduled departure hour (local time).
- 5am95%43 flights
- 6am96%54 flights
- 7am97%115 flights
- 8am93%298 flights
- 10am82%66 flights
- 11am86%351 flights
- 2pm93%29 flights
- 3pm83%389 flights
- 5pm78%181 flights
- 6pm83%70 flights
- 7pm80%80 flights
- 8pm56%66 flights
- 9pm85%110 flights
- 10pm89%217 flights
- 11pm87%71 flights
Best day of the week
On-time arrival rate by day of departure.
- Monday84%0.9% cancelled
- Tuesday89%0.7% cancelled
- Wednesday86%0.3% cancelled
- Thursday86%0.6% cancelled
- Friday83%0.3% cancelled
- Saturday85%1.2% cancelled
- Sunday87%2.2% cancelled
On-time trend by month
Why flights are late
Share of delay minutes by cause, as reported by airlines to the DOT.
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)54%
- Late-arriving aircraft39%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion5%
- Extreme weather2%
- Security0%
Why flights are cancelled
Share of cancellations by reason.
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)95%
- Extreme weather5%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion0%
- Security0%
SLC to SMF: common questions
- How often are SLC to SMF flights on time?
- 86% 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 Salt Lake City to Sacramento cancelled?
- 0.9% of scheduled flights were cancelled (19 of 2,160).
- How long are typical delays?
- Across all flights the average arrival delay was 10 min (early arrivals count as zero). Flights that were late arrived 64 min behind schedule on average, and 5.2% of flights were an hour or more late.
- How long is taxi time at SLC?
- Flights on this route spent 16 min taxiing from the gate to takeoff on average.
Related routes
Return trip: SMF to SLC — 87% on time
More flights from Salt Lake City
Data: U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 (12 months). Latest month published by BTS: July 2026. Route: SLC → SMF, nonstop flights by US airlines that report to the DOT. How we calculate this.