Airports › California
Airport · 12 months to July 2026
Sacramento International: delays and on-time record
Sacramento, 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 56,306 domestic departures from Sacramento International (SMF), Sacramento, in the 12 months to July 2026: about 154 a day to 45 destinations.
80.0% of those flights left the gate less than 15 minutes late, 3.9 points above the national departure figure of 76.1%. Flights arriving at SMF were on time 79.4% of the time, 3.4 points above the national arrival figure of 76.0%.
0.7% of scheduled departures were cancelled (national: 1.8%), and the average departure delay, counting early and on-time departures as zero, was 12.1 min.
Southwest Airlines is the largest reporting carrier at SMF with 57% of departures. Among carriers with at least 563 departures, Delta Air Lines had the highest on-time arrival share for its SMF departures (90.0%) and Frontier Airlines the lowest (75.8%).
On-time departures are down 2.4 points on the previous 12 months (82.4%).
Of the delay minutes that carriers assigned to a BTS cause category for flights leaving SMF, late-arriving aircraft 46%, air carrier 33% and national aviation system 18%.
- On time 81.4%
- Arrived 15+ minutes late 17.7%
- Cancelled 0.7%
- Diverted 0.2%
As origin and as destination, against the nation
| Measure | Departures from SMF | Arrivals at SMF | All reported flights | SMF departures, previous 12 months |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Departed on time (less than 15 min late) | 80.0% | 75.4% | 76.1% | 82.4% |
| Arrived on time | 81.4% | 79.4% | 76.0% | 83.3% |
| Cancelled | 0.7% | 0.7% | 1.8% | 0.5% |
| Diverted | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.3% | 0.2% |
| Average departure delay (late minutes only) | 12.1 min | 14.4 min | 17.4 min | 11.3 min |
| Arrival delay minutes per 100 flights | 1,117 | 1,214 | 1,684 | 1,058 |
| Scheduled flights | 56,306 | 56,302 | 7,043,858 | 58,036 |
12 months to July 2026. The first column follows flights that left SMF; the second follows flights that landed there. Year on year, on-time departures moved −2.4 pts.
Airlines at SMF
| Reporting carrier | Flights | Share | On time | Avg arrival delay | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WN Southwest Airlines | 31,980 | 57% | 79.7% | 4.2 min | 0.5% |
| OO SkyWest Airlines | 8,910 | 16% | 82.3% | 2.3 min | 0.8% |
| UA United Airlines | 4,390 | 8% | 86.6% | -0.8 min | 0.8% |
| AA American Airlines | 3,460 | 6% | 80.7% | 6.8 min | 1.8% |
| DL Delta Air Lines | 3,387 | 6% | 90.0% | -5.0 min | 1.1% |
| AS Alaska Airlines | 2,612 | 5% | 82.2% | 1.7 min | 0.8% |
| F9 Frontier Airlines | 637 | 1% | 75.8% | 8.3 min | 1.3% |
| HA Hawaiian Airlines | 460 | 1% | 80.0% | 5.8 min | 1.1% |
| B6 JetBlue Airways | 198 | 0% | 71.7% | 20.6 min | 3.5% |
| MQ Envoy Air | 143 | 0% | 82.5% | 1.9 min | 0.7% |
| NK Spirit Airlines | 129 | 0% | 84.5% | 2.5 min | 0.8% |
Departures from SMF 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 81.4%. Carriers fly different routes at different hours, so the rows are not a like-for-like test.
Busiest routes from SMF
| Route | Cities | Flights | On time | Avg arrival delay | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SMF–LAX | Sacramento to Los Angeles | 5,643 | 85.1% | 1.0 min | 0.4% |
| SMF–SAN | Sacramento to San Diego | 5,180 | 71.1% | 11.0 min | 1.0% |
| SMF–SEA | Sacramento to Seattle | 4,390 | 82.3% | -0.6 min | 0.3% |
| SMF–LAS | Sacramento to Las Vegas | 4,114 | 79.4% | 5.6 min | 0.6% |
| SMF–DEN | Sacramento to Denver | 3,845 | 82.7% | 2.7 min | 0.3% |
| SMF–PHX | Sacramento to Phoenix | 3,630 | 80.6% | 5.4 min | 0.6% |
| SMF–BUR | Sacramento to Burbank | 2,606 | 83.5% | 0.0 min | 1.8% |
| SMF–SNA | Sacramento to Santa Ana | 2,310 | 84.0% | 0.3 min | 0.3% |
| SMF–SLC | Sacramento to Salt Lake City | 2,160 | 86.6% | -1.6 min | 0.8% |
| SMF–ONT | Sacramento to Ontario | 2,115 | 83.9% | 1.4 min | 0.4% |
| SMF–PDX | Sacramento to Portland | 1,954 | 82.9% | 1.8 min | 0.4% |
| SMF–LGB | Sacramento to Long Beach | 1,869 | 85.6% | 0.8 min | 0.3% |
| SMF–DFW | Sacramento to Dallas/Fort Worth | 1,631 | 77.7% | 8.0 min | 2.6% |
| SMF–SFO | Sacramento to San Francisco | 1,356 | 62.4% | 19.8 min | 1.7% |
| SMF–ORD | Sacramento to Chicago | 1,342 | 77.2% | 8.8 min | 1.4% |
| SMF–ATL | Sacramento to Atlanta | 1,010 | 91.1% | -6.3 min | 1.4% |
| SMF–BOI | Sacramento to Boise | 860 | 80.7% | 3.0 min | 0.0% |
| SMF–HNL | Sacramento to Honolulu | 730 | 80.7% | 1.3 min | 0.1% |
| SMF–IAH | Sacramento to Houston | 677 | 90.0% | -0.7 min | 0.1% |
| SMF–MDW | Sacramento to Chicago | 677 | 85.1% | -0.7 min | 0.3% |
| SMF–DAL | Sacramento to Dallas | 660 | 73.0% | 8.7 min | 0.6% |
| SMF–GEG | Sacramento to Spokane | 607 | 77.4% | 5.9 min | 0.0% |
| SMF–MSP | Sacramento to Minneapolis | 591 | 91.9% | -7.4 min | 0.7% |
| SMF–PSP | Sacramento to Palm Springs | 523 | 87.2% | 1.6 min | 0.2% |
| SMF–KOA | Sacramento to Kona | 521 | 87.7% | -4.8 min | 0.2% |
| SMF–OGG | Sacramento to Kahului | 481 | 85.4% | 2.0 min | 1.2% |
| SMF–CLT | Sacramento to Charlotte | 429 | 86.5% | -1.7 min | 1.9% |
| SMF–AUS | Sacramento to Austin | 385 | 78.7% | 5.5 min | 0.3% |
| SMF–SBA | Sacramento to Santa Barbara | 366 | 88.3% | -5.3 min | 0.8% |
| SMF–IAD | Sacramento to Washington | 365 | 94.2% | -15.8 min | 1.6% |
| SMF–EUG | Sacramento to Eugene | 365 | 82.7% | 0.9 min | 0.0% |
| SMF–HOU | Sacramento to Houston | 364 | 74.2% | 8.3 min | 0.5% |
| SMF–BWI | Sacramento to Baltimore | 364 | 83.5% | -0.2 min | 0.8% |
| SMF–BNA | Sacramento to Nashville | 345 | 88.4% | -0.5 min | 0.3% |
| SMF–STL | Sacramento to St. Louis | 331 | 79.5% | 4.9 min | 0.0% |
| SMF–MCO | Sacramento to Orlando | 323 | 83.6% | -1.8 min | 0.0% |
| SMF–EWR | Sacramento to Newark | 283 | 74.2% | 6.8 min | 2.1% |
| SMF–LIH | Sacramento to Lihue | 210 | 84.3% | 3.4 min | 1.0% |
| SMF–MCI | Sacramento to Kansas City | 207 | 84.5% | 3.6 min | 0.0% |
| SMF–DTW | Sacramento to Detroit | 200 | 89.0% | 0.6 min | 0.0% |
| SMF–JFK | Sacramento to New York | 165 | 68.5% | 25.2 min | 4.2% |
The 41 busiest of 45 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 1,126 departures, 5 am to 6 am had the highest on-time share (93.9% of 2,948 flights) and 4 pm to 5 pm the lowest (69.2% of 2,738).
Delay causes
Cancellations by reported reason (397 in the period): air carrier 39%, weather 42%, national aviation system 19%, security 0%.
Checkpoint volumes
TSA publishes daily checkpoint passenger counts for the country as a whole, not for SMF on its own. The national series through September 2026 is on the checkpoint volumes page.
Questions and answers
How often do flights leave SMF on time?
80.0% of the 56,306 scheduled domestic departures in the 12 months to July 2026 left less than 15 minutes late; the national figure was 76.1%. 0.7% were cancelled.
How often do flights arrive at SMF on time?
79.4% of 56,302 scheduled arrivals were on time by the BTS definition, against 76.0% nationally.
Which airline has the highest on-time share at SMF?
Counting departures from SMF and whether they reached their destination on time, Delta Air Lines had the highest share (90.0% of 3,387 flights), then United Airlines (86.6%) and SkyWest Airlines (82.3%). Carriers fly different routes at different hours, so the figures are not a like-for-like test.
What causes delays at SMF?
For departures from SMF that reached their destination 15 or more minutes late, carriers attributed the delay minutes as follows: late-arriving aircraft 46%, air carrier 33%, national aviation system 18%, extreme weather 3%, security 0%.
What time of day has the highest on-time share at SMF?
Departures scheduled from 5 am to 6 am local time left on time 93.9% of the time, the highest of any hour with enough flights to compare; 4 pm to 5 pm was lowest at 69.2%.
Is it getting better?
On-time departures for the 12 months to July 2026 were 80.0%, down 2.4 points on the previous 12 months (82.4%). 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 SMF?
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.