Airports › California
Airport · 12 months to July 2026
Santa Barbara Municipal: delays and on-time record
Santa Barbara, California
BTS: A flight is counted as on time if it arrived less than 15 minutes after its scheduled time. Only carriers with at least 0.5 percent of domestic scheduled passenger revenue report. Data through July 2026; this is a monthly history, not live airport status.
Reporting carriers scheduled 8,582 domestic departures from Santa Barbara Municipal (SBA), Santa Barbara, in the 12 months to July 2026: about 24 a day to 14 destinations.
81.1% of those flights left the gate less than 15 minutes late, 5.0 points above the national departure figure of 76.1%. Flights arriving at SBA were on time 80.9% of the time, 4.9 points above the national arrival figure of 76.0%.
1.0% of scheduled departures were cancelled (national: 1.8%), and the average departure delay, counting early and on-time departures as zero, was 15.0 min.
SkyWest Airlines is the largest reporting carrier at SBA with 32% of departures. Among carriers with at least 120 departures, Southwest Airlines had the highest on-time arrival share for its SBA departures (85.7%) and United Airlines the lowest (73.1%).
On-time departures are down 2.1 points on the previous 12 months (83.2%).
Of the delay minutes that carriers assigned to a BTS cause category for flights leaving SBA, national aviation system 33%, late-arriving aircraft 32% and air carrier 28%.
- On time 80.3%
- Arrived 15+ minutes late 18.5%
- Cancelled 1.0%
- Diverted 0.2%
As origin and as destination, against the nation
| Measure | Departures from SBA | Arrivals at SBA | All reported flights | SBA departures, previous 12 months |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Departed on time (less than 15 min late) | 81.1% | 79.3% | 76.1% | 83.2% |
| Arrived on time | 80.3% | 80.9% | 76.0% | 82.5% |
| Cancelled | 1.0% | 0.9% | 1.8% | 0.9% |
| Diverted | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.1% |
| Average departure delay (late minutes only) | 15.0 min | 13.7 min | 17.4 min | 13.7 min |
| Arrival delay minutes per 100 flights | 1,526 | 1,251 | 1,684 | 1,385 |
| Scheduled flights | 8,582 | 8,581 | 7,043,858 | 7,970 |
12 months to July 2026. The first column follows flights that left SBA; the second follows flights that landed there. Year on year, on-time departures moved −2.1 pts.
Airlines at SBA
| Reporting carrier | Flights | Share | On time | Avg arrival delay | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OO SkyWest Airlines | 2,776 | 32% | 81.1% | 3.2 min | 1.1% |
| UA United Airlines | 1,916 | 22% | 73.1% | 11.4 min | 0.6% |
| WN Southwest Airlines | 1,838 | 21% | 85.7% | -1.7 min | 0.5% |
| AA American Airlines | 977 | 11% | 79.9% | 19.2 min | 1.2% |
| MQ Envoy Air | 403 | 5% | 85.4% | 1.3 min | 1.5% |
| AS Alaska Airlines | 344 | 4% | 78.2% | 2.7 min | 0.9% |
| DL Delta Air Lines | 328 | 4% | 81.7% | 3.5 min | 3.0% |
Departures from SBA by reporting carrier, ordered by flights; on time means the flight reached its destination less than 15 minutes late. Green is at or above the airport's overall share of 80.3%. Carriers fly different routes at different hours, so the rows are not a like-for-like test.
Busiest routes from SBA
| Route | Cities | Flights | On time | Avg arrival delay | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SBA–SFO | Santa Barbara to San Francisco | 1,640 | 61.7% | 21.5 min | 1.2% |
| SBA–PHX | Santa Barbara to Phoenix | 1,431 | 84.2% | 6.4 min | 1.1% |
| SBA–DEN | Santa Barbara to Denver | 1,073 | 83.5% | 1.8 min | 0.7% |
| SBA–SLC | Santa Barbara to Salt Lake City | 1,060 | 94.2% | -10.2 min | 0.9% |
| SBA–LAS | Santa Barbara to Las Vegas | 885 | 86.4% | -1.3 min | 0.6% |
| SBA–LAX | Santa Barbara to Los Angeles | 687 | 87.9% | -0.6 min | 1.0% |
| SBA–SMF | Santa Barbara to Sacramento | 365 | 82.5% | -1.6 min | 0.5% |
| SBA–DFW | Santa Barbara to Dallas/Fort Worth | 364 | 72.5% | 31.3 min | 1.6% |
| SBA–SEA | Santa Barbara to Seattle | 363 | 78.5% | 2.6 min | 0.8% |
| SBA–OAK | Santa Barbara to Oakland | 300 | 90.7% | -8.4 min | 0.3% |
| SBA–ATL | Santa Barbara to Atlanta | 171 | 76.0% | 11.7 min | 2.9% |
The 11 busiest of 14 routes with reported flights. Routes with at least 10 flights a month have their own page.
Month by month
By scheduled departure hour
Among hours with at least 172 departures, 5 am to 6 am had the highest on-time share (94.3% of 1,060 flights) and 1 pm to 2 pm the lowest (72.6% of 646).
Delay causes
Cancellations by reported reason (83 in the period): air carrier 16%, weather 52%, national aviation system 33%, security 0%.
Checkpoint volumes
TSA publishes daily checkpoint passenger counts for the country as a whole, not for SBA on its own. The national series through September 2026 is on the checkpoint volumes page.
Questions and answers
How often do flights leave SBA on time?
81.1% of the 8,582 scheduled domestic departures in the 12 months to July 2026 left less than 15 minutes late; the national figure was 76.1%. 1.0% were cancelled.
How often do flights arrive at SBA on time?
80.9% of 8,581 scheduled arrivals were on time by the BTS definition, against 76.0% nationally.
Which airline has the highest on-time share at SBA?
Counting departures from SBA and whether they reached their destination on time, Southwest Airlines had the highest share (85.7% of 1,838 flights), then Envoy Air (85.4%) and Delta Air Lines (81.7%). Carriers fly different routes at different hours, so the figures are not a like-for-like test.
What causes delays at SBA?
For departures from SBA that reached their destination 15 or more minutes late, carriers attributed the delay minutes as follows: national aviation system 33%, late-arriving aircraft 32%, air carrier 28%, extreme weather 8%, security 0%.
What time of day has the highest on-time share at SBA?
Departures scheduled from 5 am to 6 am local time left on time 94.3% of the time, the highest of any hour with enough flights to compare; 1 pm to 2 pm was lowest at 72.6%.
Is it getting better?
On-time departures for the 12 months to July 2026 were 81.1%, down 2.1 points on the previous 12 months (83.2%). The monthly chart shows each of the last 36 months, and each month has its own page.
Does this page show today's delays at SBA?
No. BTS publishes on-time records about two months after the month ends, so this page is a monthly history through July 2026. For live conditions use the FAA airport status service or your airline.
Provenance
Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Reporting Carrier On-Time Performance (1987 to present), monthly files August 2023 to July 2026; airport name from the BTS airport lookup table. US government works in the public domain. Domestic scheduled flights by reporting carriers only: international flights, charters and smaller carriers are not in the source. Totals and averages only; no individual flight or aircraft is identified. See the methodology; report processing errors through corrections.