SMF to DEN flight delays & on-time performance
Nonstop flights from Sacramento International Airport to Denver International Airport · 909 miles · Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
No FAA-reported ground stops or delays at SMF or DEN right now. Individual flights can still be delayed by the airline; check with your airline for your flight.
Key facts
- Flights from Sacramento (SMF) to Denver (DEN) arrived on time 83% of the time in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, better than the 78% national average.
- 0.3% were cancelled, and 5% arrived an hour or more late.
- United Airlines was the most punctual airline here (89% on time); Southwest Airlines was the least (78%).
- Departures scheduled around 5am did best (96% on time); around 2pm did worst (66%).
- Saturday was the most reliable day to fly (87% on time) and Friday the least (80%).
- The largest source of delay minutes was late-arriving aircraft (45%).
Which airline is most on time from SMF to DEN?
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 | 89% | 0.5% | 8 min | 4.0% | 1,793 |
| Frontier Airlines | 82% | 0.0% | 16 min | 5.5% | 183 |
| Southwest Airlines | 78% | 0.2% | 12 min | 5.0% | 1,869 |
Best time of day to fly
On-time arrival rate by scheduled departure hour (local time).
- 5am96%552 flights
- 6am91%174 flights
- 7am95%41 flights
- 8am95%472 flights
- 9am93%122 flights
- 10am88%316 flights
- 11am87%151 flights
- 12pm79%314 flights
- 1pm75%428 flights
- 2pm66%217 flights
- 3pm64%96 flights
- 4pm75%445 flights
- 6pm79%231 flights
- 7pm74%179 flights
- 8pm75%71 flights
Best day of the week
On-time arrival rate by day of departure.
- Monday81%0.3% cancelled
- Tuesday84%0.6% cancelled
- Wednesday85%0.2% cancelled
- Thursday82%0.3% cancelled
- Friday80%0.2% cancelled
- Saturday87%0.4% cancelled
- Sunday85%0.4% 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 aircraft45%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion27%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)26%
- Extreme weather2%
- Security0%
Why flights are cancelled
Share of cancellations by reason.
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)62%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion31%
- Extreme weather8%
- Security0%
SMF to DEN: common questions
- How often are SMF to DEN flights on time?
- 83% 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 Sacramento to Denver cancelled?
- 0.3% of scheduled flights were cancelled (13 of 3,845).
- 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 55 min behind schedule on average, and 4.6% of flights were an hour or more late.
- How long is taxi time at SMF?
- Flights on this route spent 13 min taxiing from the gate to takeoff on average.
Related routes
Return trip: DEN to SMF — 74% on time
More flights from Sacramento
Data: U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 (12 months). Latest month published by BTS: July 2026. Route: SMF → DEN, nonstop flights by US airlines that report to the DOT. How we calculate this.