FlightRecord

Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (SEA): Delays & On-Time Performance

Data through July 2026

Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (SEA) in Seattle, WA is a middle-of-the-pack performer: 79% of departures are on time, within a few points of the national 78%. It hosts 11 airlines flying 452 departures a day to 97 destinations, with cancellations at 0.8%.

Departures on-time
79%
left <15 min late
Avg dep delay
13 min
Arrivals on-time
80%
Cancelled
0.8%
Destinations
97
nonstop
Airlines
11

Plan your departure from SEA

The choices most likely to improve your odds, based on this airport’s historical record.

Best departure time
Around 5 a.m.
94% on-time
Best day to fly
Tuesday
82% on-time
Most reliable airline here
SkyWest Airlines
86% on-time from SEA
Cancellation risk
0.8%
below the US average
Check routes from SEA ↓Compare nearby airports ↓

Monthly on-time trend

Monthly departure on-time percentage at SEA50%75%100%August 2024: 76% on-time (15,984 flights)76Aug 2024September 2024: 81% on-time (14,805 flights)81October 2024: 86% on-time (13,763 flights)86November 2024: 87% on-time (12,453 flights)87Nov 2024December 2024: 80% on-time (12,596 flights)80January 2025: 83% on-time (11,882 flights)83February 2025: 79% on-time (10,738 flights)79Feb 2025March 2025: 83% on-time (12,577 flights)83April 2025: 83% on-time (12,716 flights)83May 2025: 80% on-time (14,630 flights)80May 2025June 2025: 72% on-time (15,695 flights)72July 2025: 72% on-time (16,577 flights)72August 2025: 75% on-time (15,970 flights)75Aug 2025September 2025: 83% on-time (14,552 flights)83October 2025: 82% on-time (13,859 flights)82November 2025: 84% on-time (12,616 flights)84Nov 2025December 2025: 73% on-time (13,023 flights)73January 2026: 80% on-time (11,927 flights)80February 2026: 84% on-time (11,000 flights)84Feb 2026March 2026: 77% on-time (12,830 flights)77April 2026: 85% on-time (12,864 flights)85May 2026: 80% on-time (14,564 flights)80May 2026June 2026: 74% on-time (15,402 flights)74July 2026: 74% on-time (16,214 flights)74

Best time of day to depart from SEA

On-time percentage by scheduled departure hour at SEA5 a.m.: 94% on-time (5,708 flights)56 a.m.: 92% on-time (11,931 flights)67 a.m.: 89% on-time (28,084 flights)78 a.m.: 88% on-time (24,906 flights)89 a.m.: 84% on-time (25,416 flights)910 a.m.: 77% on-time (21,349 flights)1011 a.m.: 74% on-time (31,085 flights)1112 p.m.: 77% on-time (15,753 flights)121 p.m.: 78% on-time (19,722 flights)132 p.m.: 77% on-time (11,737 flights)143 p.m.: 77% on-time (23,701 flights)154 p.m.: 76% on-time (11,224 flights)165 p.m.: 76% on-time (24,245 flights)176 p.m.: 75% on-time (14,675 flights)187 p.m.: 78% on-time (20,395 flights)198 p.m.: 71% on-time (10,514 flights)209 p.m.: 76% on-time (18,067 flights)2110 p.m.: 72% on-time (11,679 flights)2211 p.m.: 76% on-time (13,540 flights)23scheduled departure hour

By day of week

DayOn-timeAvg delay
Monday78%13 min
Tuesdaybest82%10 min
Wednesday81%11 min
Thursday76%14 min
Friday76%14 min
Saturday80%12 min
Sunday76%14 min

Next: compare the busiest routes from SEA ↓

Busiest routes from SEA

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
SEA → LAX (Los Angeles)7,45483%11 min
SEA → PHX (Phoenix)7,22579%13 min
SEA → SFO (San Francisco)6,79169%19 min
SEA → ANC (Anchorage)6,65775%13 min
SEA → DEN (Denver)6,32577%15 min
SEA → LAS (Las Vegas)5,62177%13 min
SEA → ORD (Chicago)5,55176%18 min
SEA → DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth)5,22975%18 min
SEA → GEG (Spokane)5,06280%11 min
SEA → PDX (Portland)4,81281%10 min
SEA → SAN (San Diego)4,59577%12 min
SEA → SJC (San Jose)4,38481%10 min
SEA → SMF (Sacramento)4,38180%11 min
SEA → SLC (Salt Lake City)4,12483%10 min
SEA → SNA (Santa Ana)3,95885%9 min
SEA → BOI (Boise)3,88184%9 min
SEA → ATL (Atlanta)3,27780%14 min
SEA → HNL (Honolulu)2,93369%21 min
SEA → JFK (New York)2,90674%17 min
SEA → MSP (Minneapolis)2,68485%9 min
SEA → ONT (Ontario)2,50482%10 min
SEA → BOS (Boston)2,50275%17 min
SEA → FAI (Fairbanks)2,29176%13 min
SEA → EWR (Newark)2,26479%15 min
SEA → IAH (Houston)2,09079%13 min
SEA → AUS (Austin)2,06877%14 min
SEA → DTW (Detroit)2,06084%9 min
SEA → EUG (Eugene)1,93083%10 min
SEA → RDM (Bend/Redmond)1,90783%10 min
SEA → OAK (Oakland)1,89574%14 min
SEA → IAD (Washington)1,85382%12 min
SEA → MCO (Orlando)1,82078%12 min
SEA → OGG (Kahului)1,80981%11 min
SEA → PSC (Pasco/Kennewick/Richland)1,72682%11 min
SEA → PSP (Palm Springs)1,65383%9 min
SEA → BUR (Burbank)1,62277%11 min
SEA → JNU (Juneau)1,58874%13 min
SEA → BZN (Bozeman)1,57479%11 min
SEA → BNA (Nashville)1,47677%12 min
SEA → KOA (Kona)1,42176%13 min
SEA → PHL (Philadelphia)1,38876%14 min
SEA → KTN (Ketchikan)1,30375%13 min
SEA → CLT (Charlotte)1,29686%18 min
SEA → MFR (Medford)1,27488%9 min
SEA → BLI (Bellingham)1,21682%10 min
SEA → MIA (Miami)1,21078%13 min
SEA → MCI (Kansas City)1,13178%13 min
SEA → LIH (Lihue)1,09476%14 min
SEA → DCA (Washington)1,09279%13 min
SEA → TUS (Tucson)1,06581%11 min

Compare airlines departing SEA ↓

Where flights into SEA come from

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
LAX (Los Angeles) → SEA7,45085%10 min
PHX (Phoenix) → SEA7,22682%11 min
SFO (San Francisco) → SEA6,79775%15 min
ANC (Anchorage) → SEA6,65685%10 min
DEN (Denver) → SEA6,31775%17 min
LAS (Las Vegas) → SEA5,61981%13 min
ORD (Chicago) → SEA5,55872%19 min
DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth) → SEA5,22871%20 min

Most reliable routes

  1. SEA → LWS91%
  2. SEA → MFR88%
  3. SEA → CLT86%
  4. SEA → OKC86%
  5. SEA → JAC86%

Most delay-prone routes

  1. SEA → HOU61%
  2. SEA → DAL62%
  3. SEA → SIT65%
  4. SEA → HNL69%
  5. SEA → SFO69%

What causes delays at SEA

Share of total delay minutes by cause, as reported by carriers to the US DOT, weighted across routes departing SEA.

  • Late-arriving aircraft30%
  • Airline operations42%
  • National airspace system23%
  • Weather5%

Alternative airports near Seattle

Other airports within 120 miles, compared on departure reliability.

AirportDistanceOn-time departuresAvg delay
PAE — Seattle Paine Field International Airport32 mi86%10 min
BLI — Bellingham International Airport94 mi87%10 min

Compare the airport-level record first, then check the exact route you plan to book.

Airline performance at SEA

AirlineOn-time departuresAvg delayFlights
SkyWest Airlines86%9 min59,202
Envoy Air84%13 min1,098
Delta Air Lines83%13 min67,135
United Airlines83%14 min18,979
American Airlines77%21 min13,105
Alaska Airlines76%12 min161,417
Frontier Airlines74%23 min3,259
Spirit Airlines74%17 min970
Southwest Airlines67%18 min17,059
Hawaiian Airlines63%29 min2,076
JetBlue Airways57%40 min1,135

Frequently asked questions

How often are flights delayed at SEA?
21% of departures from Seattle–Tacoma International Airport left 15+ minutes late between 2024-07 and 2026-07, with an average departure delay of 13 minutes. The national on-time average over the same period was 78%.
What is the best time of day to depart from SEA?
Flights scheduled around 5 a.m. depart on time 94% of the time at SEA, versus 69% around 1 a.m.. Booking before noon is the usual rule of thumb here.
What is the worst month for delays at SEA?
In this dataset, June 2025 was the weakest month at SEA, with 72% of departures on time.
How often are flights cancelled at SEA?
0.8% of scheduled departures from SEA were cancelled in this period, compared with a national rate of 1.6%.

Popular route pages from this airport

Related guides

Based on 345,435 flights, 2024-07–2026-07. Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Updated 2026-09-28.