Airport reliability
Sacramento (SMF) on-time performance
How reliably flights leave Sacramento, CA (SMF) and reach their destinations, by airline, departure hour and month, September 2025 to August 2026.
Sacramento, CA56,038 departures in 12 months
- Departures on time
- 81.0% U.S. average 75.6%
- Cancelled
- 0.7% U.S. average 1.9%
- 60+ minutes late
- 4.8% U.S. average 8.1%
- Scheduled departures
- 56,038 12 months
What this means
SMF departures beat the U.S. average.
- 81.0% of the 56,038 scheduled departures from Sacramento (SMF) arrived at their destination on time, 5.4 points higher than the U.S. average of 75.6%.
- 0.7% of departures were cancelled (U.S. average 1.9%), and 4.8% arrived an hour or more late.
- Flights arriving at SMF were on time 79.1% of the time.
- Among airlines with at least 300 departures, Delta Air Lines was the most punctual from SMF (89.7%) and Frontier Airlines the least (74.9%).
- Over the last 3 years, February was the most reliable month for departures from SMF (85.8% on time) and July the least reliable (77.5%).
- Flights scheduled to depart before 6 am were the most punctual (93.4% on time); flights scheduled to depart 9 pm to 10 pm were the least (70.2%).
Airlines at SMF
Ranked by on-time arrival
| Airline | On time | Cancelled | 60+ min late | Avg delay when late | Departures |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spirit Airlines | 91.2% | 0.0% | 0.0% | Unavailable | 68 |
| Delta Air Lines | 89.7% | 1.1% | 3.7% | 86 min | 3,329 |
| United Airlines | 86.6% | 0.7% | 4.1% | 70 min | 4,416 |
| Alaska Airlines | 83.1% | 0.9% | 3.0% | 53 min | 2,855 |
| Envoy AirSold as American Eagle | 83.0% | 0.7% | 6.8% | 63 min | 147 |
| SkyWest AirlinesSold as United Express, Delta Connection, American Eagle, Alaska | 81.9% | 0.9% | 5.4% | 69 min | 8,758 |
| American Airlines | 81.1% | 1.8% | 6.4% | 99 min | 3,331 |
| Southwest Airlines | 79.1% | 0.4% | 4.7% | 48 min | 31,928 |
| Hawaiian Airlines | 79.0% | 1.1% | 4.4% | 63 min | 367 |
| Frontier Airlines | 74.9% | 1.3% | 8.8% | 70 min | 672 |
| JetBlue Airways | 63.5% | 5.4% | 18.0% | 130 min | 167 |
Tap a heading to sort.
On-time rate by departure hour
Share of scheduled flights on time SMF average 81.0%
Show as table
| Period | On time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| Departing before 6 am | 93.4% | 3,021 |
| Departing 6 am to 7 am | 92.4% | 5,178 |
| Departing 7 am to 8 am | 88.1% | 4,154 |
| Departing 8 am to 9 am | 88.8% | 3,824 |
| Departing 9 am to 10 am | 87.9% | 3,277 |
| Departing 10 am to 11 am | 84.0% | 3,265 |
| Departing 11 am to noon | 81.4% | 3,837 |
| Departing noon to 1 pm | 79.9% | 3,440 |
| Departing 1 pm to 2 pm | 78.9% | 3,316 |
| Departing 2 pm to 3 pm | 73.7% | 3,374 |
| Departing 3 pm to 4 pm | 71.3% | 2,097 |
| Departing 4 pm to 5 pm | 71.7% | 2,773 |
| Departing 5 pm to 6 pm | 73.5% | 2,403 |
| Departing 6 pm to 7 pm | 73.0% | 2,640 |
| Departing 7 pm to 8 pm | 71.6% | 3,239 |
| Departing 8 pm to 9 pm | 71.1% | 2,947 |
| Departing 9 pm to 10 pm | 70.2% | 1,020 |
| Departing 10 pm to 11 pm | 83.3% | 978 |
| Departing 11 pm to midnight | 81.0% | 1,255 |
Best and worst months at SMF
Share of scheduled flights on time 12-month average 81.0%
Show as table
| Period | On time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| January | 84.4% | 12,422 |
| February | 85.8% | 11,641 |
| March | 83.8% | 13,705 |
| April | 83.7% | 14,002 |
| May | 82.0% | 14,766 |
| June | 78.3% | 14,987 |
| July | 77.5% | 15,586 |
| August | 80.6% | 14,965 |
| September | 85.1% | 14,096 |
| October | 83.7% | 14,555 |
| November | 84.8% | 13,714 |
| December | 82.1% | 13,586 |
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 | 84.3% | 4,804 |
| Oct 2025 | 81.0% | 4,937 |
| Nov 2025 | 80.2% | 4,662 |
| Dec 2025 | 78.4% | 4,531 |
| Jan 2026 | 83.7% | 4,130 |
| Feb 2026 | 84.9% | 3,935 |
| Mar 2026 | 83.3% | 4,630 |
| Apr 2026 | 83.3% | 4,672 |
| May 2026 | 81.4% | 4,945 |
| Jun 2026 | 77.4% | 4,900 |
| Jul 2026 | 77.8% | 5,071 |
| Aug 2026 | 77.7% | 4,821 |
Busiest routes from SMF
| To | On time | Cancelled | Airlines | Flights |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles (LAX) | 85.2% | 0.4% | 5 | 5,717 |
| San Diego (SAN) | 68.9% | 1.0% | 3 | 5,179 |
| Seattle (SEA) | 82.7% | 0.3% | 3 | 4,396 |
| Las Vegas (LAS) | 78.3% | 0.6% | 4 | 4,009 |
| Denver (DEN) | 82.5% | 0.2% | 4 | 3,844 |
| Phoenix (PHX) | 80.2% | 0.5% | 4 | 3,615 |
| Burbank (BUR) | 83.4% | 1.7% | 1 | 2,596 |
| Santa Ana (SNA) | 83.6% | 0.3% | 1 | 2,288 |
| Salt Lake City (SLC) | 86.2% | 0.9% | 3 | 2,165 |
| Ontario (ONT) | 83.6% | 0.3% | 1 | 2,108 |
| Portland (PDX) | 83.0% | 0.4% | 3 | 1,950 |
| Long Beach (LGB) | 85.5% | 0.3% | 1 | 1,852 |
| Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) | 78.7% | 2.4% | 1 | 1,601 |
| San Francisco (SFO) | 61.2% | 1.7% | 2 | 1,360 |
| Chicago (ORD) | 77.5% | 1.5% | 2 | 1,347 |
| Atlanta (ATL) | 91.3% | 1.4% | 1 | 1,007 |
| Boise (BOI) | 80.5% | 0.0% | 1 | 870 |
| Honolulu (HNL) | 81.1% | 0.1% | 3 | 730 |
| Chicago (MDW) | 86.1% | 0.3% | 1 | 674 |
| Houston (IAH) | 91.2% | 0.1% | 1 | 670 |
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 Sacramento, CA (SMF) 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.