SMF to TUS flight delays & on-time performance
Nonstop flights from Sacramento International Airport to Tucson International Airport · 751 miles · Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
No FAA-reported ground stops or delays at SMF or TUS 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 Tucson (TUS) arrived on time 87% of the time in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, better than the 78% national average.
- 0% were cancelled, and 4% arrived an hour or more late.
- Southwest Airlines is the only airline reporting nonstop flights on this route.
- Saturday was the most reliable day to fly (89% on time) and Sunday the least (88%).
- The largest source of delay minutes was late-arriving aircraft (76%).
Which airline is most on time from SMF to TUS?
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines | 87% | 0.0% | 9 min | 4.3% | 46 |
Best time of day to fly
On-time arrival rate by scheduled departure hour (local time).
- 9am90%10 flights
- 11am85%13 flights
Best day of the week
On-time arrival rate by day of departure.
- Monday67%0.0% cancelled
- Tuesday67%0.0% cancelled
- Wednesday100%0.0% cancelled
- Friday100%0.0% cancelled
- Saturday89%0.0% cancelled
- Sunday88%0.0% 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 aircraft76%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)21%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion3%
- Extreme weather0%
- Security0%
Why flights are cancelled
Share of cancellations by reason.
No cancellation causes recorded in this period.
SMF to TUS: common questions
- How often are SMF to TUS flights on time?
- 87% 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 Tucson cancelled?
- 0.0% of scheduled flights were cancelled (0 of 46).
- How long are typical delays?
- Across all flights the average arrival delay was 9 min (early arrivals count as zero). Flights that were late arrived 65 min behind schedule on average, and 4.3% of flights were an hour or more late.
- How long is taxi time at SMF?
- Flights on this route spent 12 min taxiing from the gate to takeoff on average.
Related routes
Return trip: TUS to SMF — 83% 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 → TUS, nonstop flights by US airlines that report to the DOT. How we calculate this.