SMF to PDX flight delays & on-time performance
Nonstop flights from Sacramento International Airport to Portland International Airport · 479 miles · Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
No FAA-reported ground stops or delays at SMF or PDX 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 Portland (PDX) arrived on time 83% of the time in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, better than the 78% national average.
- 0.4% were cancelled, and 4% arrived an hour or more late.
- Alaska Airlines was the most punctual airline here (90% on time); Southwest Airlines was the least (80%).
- Departures scheduled around 6am did best (98% on time); around 6pm did worst (65%).
- Tuesday was the most reliable day to fly (89% on time) and Thursday the least (79%).
- The largest source of delay minutes was late-arriving aircraft (66%).
Which airline is most on time from SMF to PDX?
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 | 90% | 1.0% | 9 min | 3.9% | 390 |
| SkyWest AirlinesRegional airline operating flights for United Express, Delta Connection, American Eagle and Alaska. | 86% | 0.6% | 9 min | 5.5% | 352 |
| Southwest Airlines | 80% | 0.1% | 10 min | 4.2% | 1,212 |
Best time of day to fly
On-time arrival rate by scheduled departure hour (local time).
- 5am95%129 flights
- 6am98%134 flights
- 7am94%83 flights
- 10am87%77 flights
- 11am91%117 flights
- 12pm87%342 flights
- 1pm85%20 flights
- 2pm84%228 flights
- 3pm88%94 flights
- 4pm65%20 flights
- 5pm63%32 flights
- 6pm65%140 flights
- 7pm80%274 flights
- 8pm75%165 flights
- 9pm67%84 flights
Best day of the week
On-time arrival rate by day of departure.
- Monday84%0.3% cancelled
- Tuesday89%0.4% cancelled
- Wednesday87%0.0% cancelled
- Thursday79%0.3% cancelled
- Friday79%0.6% cancelled
- Saturday85%0.0% cancelled
- Sunday80%0.7% 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 aircraft66%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)28%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion5%
- Extreme weather2%
- Security0%
Why flights are cancelled
Share of cancellations by reason.
- Air traffic control & airport congestion57%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)29%
- Extreme weather14%
- Security0%
SMF to PDX: common questions
- How often are SMF to PDX 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 Portland cancelled?
- 0.4% of scheduled flights were cancelled (7 of 1,954).
- 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 53 min behind schedule on average, and 4.4% 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: PDX to SMF — 82% 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 → PDX, nonstop flights by US airlines that report to the DOT. How we calculate this.