Airport reliability
San Francisco (SFO) on-time performance
How reliably flights leave San Francisco, CA (SFO) and reach their destinations, by airline, departure hour and month, September 2025 to August 2026.
San Francisco, CA148,532 departures in 12 months
- Departures on time
- 74.3% U.S. average 75.6%
- Cancelled
- 1.0% U.S. average 1.9%
- 60+ minutes late
- 8.3% U.S. average 8.1%
- Scheduled departures
- 148,532 12 months
What this means
SFO departures ran below the U.S. average.
- 74.3% of the 148,532 scheduled departures from San Francisco (SFO) arrived at their destination on time, 1.3 points lower than the U.S. average of 75.6%.
- 1.0% of departures were cancelled (U.S. average 1.9%), and 8.3% arrived an hour or more late.
- Flights arriving at SFO were on time 65.4% of the time.
- Among airlines with at least 300 departures, United Airlines was the most punctual from SFO (79.2%) and Southwest Airlines the least (54.2%).
- Over the last 3 years, October was the most reliable month for departures from SFO (82.8% on time) and July the least reliable (70.6%).
- Cancellations peaked in January, when 2.9% of flights were cancelled.
- Flights scheduled to depart before 6 am were the most punctual (91.4% on time); flights scheduled to depart 3 pm to 4 pm were the least (62.4%).
Airlines at SFO
Ranked by on-time arrival
| Airline | On time | Cancelled | 60+ min late | Avg delay when late | Departures |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines | 79.2% | 0.5% | 6.1% | 58 min | 62,048 |
| Delta Air Lines | 74.7% | 1.3% | 7.8% | 67 min | 13,973 |
| American Airlines | 74.6% | 1.8% | 9.2% | 102 min | 11,939 |
| Alaska Airlines | 74.1% | 1.1% | 6.7% | 55 min | 10,629 |
| JetBlue Airways | 73.6% | 2.2% | 9.6% | 76 min | 4,519 |
| SkyWest AirlinesSold as United Express, Delta Connection, American Eagle, Alaska | 72.5% | 1.3% | 9.5% | 74 min | 31,536 |
| Hawaiian Airlines | 72.5% | 2.4% | 7.4% | 78 min | 338 |
| Frontier Airlines | 61.3% | 2.2% | 14.8% | 81 min | 3,581 |
| Southwest Airlines | 54.2% | 0.9% | 16.7% | 61 min | 9,968 |
| Envoy AirSold as American Eagle | Insufficient sample | 1 | |||
Tap a heading to sort.
On-time rate by departure hour
Share of scheduled flights on time SFO average 74.3%
Show as table
| Period | On time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| Departing before 6 am | 91.4% | 4,761 |
| Departing 6 am to 7 am | 91.3% | 6,616 |
| Departing 7 am to 8 am | 89.5% | 8,275 |
| Departing 8 am to 9 am | 83.8% | 12,976 |
| Departing 9 am to 10 am | 81.3% | 8,625 |
| Departing 10 am to 11 am | 68.6% | 12,866 |
| Departing 11 am to noon | 67.4% | 7,687 |
| Departing noon to 1 pm | 64.0% | 8,862 |
| Departing 1 pm to 2 pm | 69.1% | 10,285 |
| Departing 2 pm to 3 pm | 62.7% | 6,149 |
| Departing 3 pm to 4 pm | 62.4% | 4,288 |
| Departing 4 pm to 5 pm | 70.1% | 13,456 |
| Departing 5 pm to 6 pm | 66.7% | 3,420 |
| Departing 6 pm to 7 pm | 75.5% | 8,407 |
| Departing 7 pm to 8 pm | 74.0% | 5,112 |
| Departing 8 pm to 9 pm | 68.3% | 4,673 |
| Departing 9 pm to 10 pm | 74.0% | 8,261 |
| Departing 10 pm to 11 pm | 72.8% | 7,388 |
| Departing 11 pm to midnight | 75.3% | 6,425 |
Best and worst months at SFO
Share of scheduled flights on time 12-month average 74.3%
Show as table
| Period | On time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| January | 80.1% | 32,085 |
| February | 78.5% | 29,884 |
| March | 78.2% | 34,952 |
| April | 78.0% | 35,196 |
| May | 74.1% | 36,973 |
| June | 73.1% | 36,293 |
| July | 70.6% | 38,627 |
| August | 73.6% | 38,190 |
| September | 82.1% | 35,140 |
| October | 82.8% | 37,126 |
| November | 80.4% | 35,379 |
| December | 77.1% | 35,108 |
Month by month, last 12 months
Share of scheduled flights on time U.S. average 75.6%
Show as table
| Period | On time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 82.0% | 11,830 |
| Oct 2025 | 79.7% | 12,774 |
| Nov 2025 | 76.9% | 12,022 |
| Dec 2025 | 75.3% | 11,975 |
| Jan 2026 | 80.2% | 11,113 |
| Feb 2026 | 80.5% | 10,316 |
| Mar 2026 | 82.9% | 12,171 |
| Apr 2026 | 74.0% | 12,401 |
| May 2026 | 69.3% | 13,114 |
| Jun 2026 | 66.4% | 13,415 |
| Jul 2026 | 64.9% | 13,841 |
| Aug 2026 | 64.7% | 13,560 |
Busiest routes from SFO
| To | On time | Cancelled | Airlines | Flights |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles (LAX) | 70.2% | 0.8% | 8 | 11,437 |
| Seattle (SEA) | 71.4% | 1.1% | 5 | 6,821 |
| New York (JFK) | 75.4% | 2.5% | 4 | 6,798 |
| San Diego (SAN) | 61.3% | 1.2% | 5 | 6,723 |
| Las Vegas (LAS) | 69.6% | 0.7% | 5 | 6,140 |
| Chicago (ORD) | 73.8% | 1.0% | 2 | 5,650 |
| Denver (DEN) | 74.0% | 0.5% | 3 | 5,486 |
| Boston (BOS) | 73.1% | 1.8% | 5 | 4,815 |
| Phoenix (PHX) | 71.9% | 0.7% | 5 | 4,727 |
| Santa Ana (SNA) | 76.1% | 1.4% | 4 | 4,701 |
| Newark (EWR) | 74.7% | 2.0% | 2 | 4,348 |
| Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) | 71.0% | 2.3% | 4 | 4,262 |
| Houston (IAH) | 83.6% | 0.3% | 1 | 3,578 |
| Portland (PDX) | 77.8% | 0.3% | 3 | 3,491 |
| Salt Lake City (SLC) | 74.2% | 1.0% | 4 | 3,431 |
| Atlanta (ATL) | 79.3% | 0.9% | 3 | 3,337 |
| Burbank (BUR) | 73.9% | 1.1% | 3 | 3,101 |
| Austin (AUS) | 71.2% | 0.5% | 5 | 2,786 |
| Washington (IAD) | 82.3% | 0.6% | 1 | 2,690 |
| Palm Springs (PSP) | 73.0% | 1.0% | 4 | 2,577 |
Sources & data dates
- Source
- U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Reporting Carrier On-Time Performance (1987-present)
- Period
- September 2025 to August 2026 (12 months); month-of-year patterns September 2023 to August 2026
- Data through
- August 2026
- Processed
- 2026-11-03
- Scope
- Scheduled nonstop domestic departures from San Francisco, CA (SFO) by airlines that report to the DOT.
- Method
- Rates use all scheduled flights as the denominator; cancelled and diverted flights count as not on time. Figures based on fewer than 50 scheduled flights are suppressed. Full methodology.