SMF to SAN flight delays & on-time performance
Nonstop flights from Sacramento International Airport to San Diego International Airport · 480 miles · Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
- SAN: Airport closed. Closed, expected to reopen Oct 11 at 13:00 UTC.
On-time arrivals
72%
arrived < 15 min late
Cancelled
1.0%
51 flights
Avg arrival delay
15 min
47 min when late
Airlines
3
5,180 flights tracked
Key facts
- Flights from Sacramento (SMF) to San Diego (SAN) arrived on time 72% of the time in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, worse than the 78% national average.
- 1% were cancelled, and 6% arrived an hour or more late.
- SkyWest Airlines was the most punctual airline here (78% on time); Southwest Airlines was the least (70%).
- Departures scheduled around 6am did best (91% on time); around 6pm did worst (54%).
- Saturday was the most reliable day to fly (82% on time) and Friday the least (63%).
- The largest source of delay minutes was late-arriving aircraft (44%).
Which airline is most on time from SMF 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 | 84% | 2.8% | 7 min | 2.4% | 216 |
| SkyWest AirlinesRegional airline operating flights for United Express, Delta Connection, American Eagle and Alaska. | 78% | 2.0% | 13 min | 5.9% | 1,160 |
| Southwest Airlines | 70% | 0.6% | 16 min | 6.3% | 3,804 |
Best time of day to fly
On-time arrival rate by scheduled departure hour (local time).
- 6am91%392 flights
- 7am83%523 flights
- 8am83%187 flights
- 9am84%321 flights
- 10am80%436 flights
- 11am66%306 flights
- 12pm75%376 flights
- 1pm74%217 flights
- 2pm67%390 flights
- 3pm66%384 flights
- 4pm58%273 flights
- 5pm65%306 flights
- 6pm54%253 flights
- 7pm61%460 flights
- 8pm66%237 flights
- 9pm51%84 flights
Best day of the week
On-time arrival rate by day of departure.
- Monday71%0.9% cancelled
- Tuesday81%0.9% cancelled
- Wednesday80%0.9% cancelled
- Thursday66%1.3% cancelled
- Friday63%1.0% cancelled
- Saturday82%0.4% cancelled
- Sunday67%1.5% 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 aircraft44%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion32%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)23%
- Extreme weather1%
- Security0%
Why flights are cancelled
Share of cancellations by reason.
- Air traffic control & airport congestion43%
- Extreme weather33%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)24%
- Security0%
SMF to SAN: common questions
- How often are SMF to SAN flights on time?
- 72% 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 San Diego cancelled?
- 1.0% of scheduled flights were cancelled (51 of 5,180).
- How long are typical delays?
- Across all flights the average arrival delay was 15 min (early arrivals count as zero). Flights that were late arrived 47 min behind schedule on average, and 6.0% of flights were an hour or more late.
- How long is taxi time at SMF?
- Flights on this route spent 16 min taxiing from the gate to takeoff on average.
Related routes
Return trip: SAN to SMF — 76% 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 → SAN, nonstop flights by US airlines that report to the DOT. How we calculate this.