Airports › California
Airport · 12 months to July 2026
Santa Maria Public/Capt. G. Allan Hancock Field: delays and on-time record
Santa Maria, 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 509 domestic departures from Santa Maria Public/Capt. G. Allan Hancock Field (SMX), Santa Maria, in the 12 months to July 2026: about 1.4 a day to 2 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 SMX were on time 82.1% of the time, 6.1 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 21.9 min.
SkyWest Airlines is the largest reporting carrier at SMX with 80% of departures.
Of the delay minutes that carriers assigned to a BTS cause category for flights leaving SMX, air carrier 47%, late-arriving aircraft 23% and extreme weather 23%.
- On time 81.3%
- Arrived 15+ minutes late 17.7%
- Cancelled 1.0%
- Diverted 0.0%
As origin and as destination, against the nation
| Measure | Departures from SMX | Arrivals at SMX | All reported flights | SMX departures, previous 12 months |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Departed on time (less than 15 min late) | 81.1% | 81.5% | 76.1% | — |
| Arrived on time | 81.3% | 82.1% | 76.0% | — |
| Cancelled | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1.8% | — |
| Diverted | 0.0% | 0.8% | 0.3% | — |
| Average departure delay (late minutes only) | 21.9 min | 18.3 min | 17.4 min | — |
| Arrival delay minutes per 100 flights | 2,047 | 1,654 | 1,684 | — |
| Scheduled flights | 509 | 509 | 7,043,858 | — |
12 months to July 2026. The first column follows flights that left SMX; the second follows flights that landed there.
Airlines at SMX
| Reporting carrier | Flights | Share | On time | Avg arrival delay | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OO SkyWest Airlines | 405 | 80% | 83.0% | 4.6 min | 1.2% |
| G4 Allegiant Air | 104 | 20% | 75.0% | 5.4 min | 0.0% |
Departures from SMX 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 81.3%. Carriers fly different routes at different hours, so the rows are not a like-for-like test.
Busiest routes from SMX
| Route | Cities | Flights | On time | Avg arrival delay | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SMX–PHX | Santa Maria to Phoenix | 405 | 83.0% | 4.6 min | 1.2% |
| SMX–LAS | Santa Maria to Las Vegas | 104 | 75.0% | 5.4 min | 0.0% |
Routes with at least 10 flights a month have their own page.
Month by month
By scheduled departure hour
Among hours with at least 30 departures, 5 am to 6 am had the highest on-time share (86.7% of 203 flights) and 10 pm to 11 pm the lowest (67.4% of 46).
Delay causes
Cancellations by reported reason (5 in the period): air carrier 0%, weather 100%, national aviation system 0%, security 0%.
Checkpoint volumes
TSA publishes daily checkpoint passenger counts for the country as a whole, not for SMX on its own. The national series through September 2026 is on the checkpoint volumes page.
Questions and answers
How often do flights leave SMX on time?
81.1% of the 509 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 SMX on time?
82.1% of 509 scheduled arrivals were on time by the BTS definition, against 76.0% nationally.
Which airline has the highest on-time share at SMX?
Only one reporting carrier has enough departures here to report a share.
What causes delays at SMX?
For departures from SMX that reached their destination 15 or more minutes late, carriers attributed the delay minutes as follows: air carrier 47%, late-arriving aircraft 23%, extreme weather 23%, national aviation system 8%, security 0%.
What time of day has the highest on-time share at SMX?
Departures scheduled from 5 am to 6 am local time left on time 86.7% of the time, the highest of any hour with enough flights to compare; 10 pm to 11 pm was lowest at 67.4%.
Is it getting better?
There are not enough flights in the previous 12 months for a year-on-year comparison.
Does this page show today's delays at SMX?
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.