FlightRecord

San Francisco International Airport (SFO): Delays & On-Time Performance

Data through May 2026

San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is a tale of two seasons: departures ran 86% on-time in April 2025 but sank to 68% in May 2026. Across the year it averages 80% against a national 78%, over roughly 400 departures a day to 85 destinations.

Departures on-time
80%
left <15 min late
Avg dep delay
15 min
Arrivals on-time
74%
Cancelled
0.9%
Destinations
85
nonstop
Airlines
10

Plan your departure from SFO

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

Best departure time
Around 5 a.m.
95% on-time
Best day to fly
Tuesday
84% on-time
Most reliable airline here
Hawaiian Airlines
83% on-time from SFO
Cancellation risk
0.9%
below the US average
Check routes from SFO ↓Compare nearby airports ↓

Monthly on-time trend

Monthly departure on-time percentage at SFO50%75%100%June 2024: 74% on-time (10,256 flights)74Jun 2024July 2024: 76% on-time (11,828 flights)76August 2024: 79% on-time (12,036 flights)79September 2024: 83% on-time (11,767 flights)83Sep 2024October 2024: 84% on-time (12,568 flights)84November 2024: 79% on-time (12,171 flights)79December 2024: 78% on-time (12,097 flights)78Dec 2024January 2025: 86% on-time (10,839 flights)86February 2025: 80% on-time (9,936 flights)80March 2025: 81% on-time (11,887 flights)81Mar 2025April 2025: 86% on-time (12,173 flights)86May 2025: 83% on-time (12,885 flights)83June 2025: 80% on-time (12,622 flights)80Jun 2025July 2025: 77% on-time (12,958 flights)77August 2025: 81% on-time (12,594 flights)81September 2025: 84% on-time (11,830 flights)84Sep 2025October 2025: 80% on-time (12,774 flights)80November 2025: 80% on-time (12,022 flights)80December 2025: 75% on-time (11,975 flights)75Dec 2025January 2026: 82% on-time (11,113 flights)82February 2026: 79% on-time (10,316 flights)79March 2026: 83% on-time (12,171 flights)83Mar 2026April 2026: 73% on-time (12,401 flights)73May 2026: 68% on-time (13,114 flights)68

Best time of day to depart from SFO

On-time percentage by scheduled departure hour at SFO5 a.m.: 95% on-time (6,835 flights)56 a.m.: 94% on-time (13,388 flights)67 a.m.: 92% on-time (17,239 flights)78 a.m.: 90% on-time (24,513 flights)89 a.m.: 84% on-time (18,548 flights)910 a.m.: 76% on-time (22,490 flights)1011 a.m.: 75% on-time (18,210 flights)1112 p.m.: 72% on-time (13,269 flights)121 p.m.: 74% on-time (22,169 flights)132 p.m.: 72% on-time (10,986 flights)143 p.m.: 70% on-time (7,305 flights)154 p.m.: 77% on-time (24,980 flights)165 p.m.: 75% on-time (6,955 flights)176 p.m.: 79% on-time (16,156 flights)187 p.m.: 78% on-time (10,960 flights)198 p.m.: 75% on-time (8,865 flights)209 p.m.: 78% on-time (13,222 flights)2110 p.m.: 78% on-time (15,454 flights)2211 p.m.: 77% on-time (12,380 flights)23scheduled departure hour

By day of week

DayOn-timeAvg delay
Monday78%16 min
Tuesdaybest84%11 min
Wednesday81%13 min
Thursday77%16 min
Friday77%16 min
Saturday83%12 min
Sunday76%18 min

Next: compare the busiest routes from SFO ↓

Busiest routes from SFO

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
SFO → LAX (Los Angeles)10,83479%14 min
SFO → SEA (Seattle)6,76876%15 min
SFO → JFK (New York)6,70581%17 min
SFO → SAN (San Diego)6,52471%18 min
SFO → LAS (Las Vegas)6,05576%17 min
SFO → ORD (Chicago)5,60979%16 min
SFO → DEN (Denver)5,38478%15 min
SFO → SNA (Santa Ana)4,74981%12 min
SFO → PHX (Phoenix)4,62278%18 min
SFO → BOS (Boston)4,61079%15 min
SFO → EWR (Newark)4,41475%21 min
SFO → DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth)4,06475%21 min
SFO → IAH (Houston)3,59684%10 min
SFO → PDX (Portland)3,52681%12 min
SFO → SLC (Salt Lake City)3,48580%16 min
SFO → ATL (Atlanta)3,35581%14 min
SFO → BUR (Burbank)3,02380%13 min
SFO → IAD (Washington)2,82983%11 min
SFO → AUS (Austin)2,77980%13 min
SFO → PSP (Palm Springs)2,46478%17 min
SFO → HNL (Honolulu)2,39283%12 min
SFO → MSP (Minneapolis)1,91786%10 min
SFO → PHL (Philadelphia)1,91285%13 min
SFO → RNO (Reno)1,89280%14 min
SFO → DTW (Detroit)1,80282%12 min
SFO → MIA (Miami)1,70181%15 min
SFO → BOI (Boise)1,67080%14 min
SFO → OGG (Kahului)1,61589%7 min
SFO → SBA (Santa Barbara)1,58083%13 min
SFO → CLT (Charlotte)1,49584%18 min
SFO → MCO (Orlando)1,48684%10 min
SFO → SMF (Sacramento)1,39881%16 min
SFO → FAT (Fresno)1,30579%19 min
SFO → ACV (Arcata/Eureka)1,28978%20 min
SFO → ONT (Ontario)1,27580%15 min
SFO → FLL (Fort Lauderdale)1,27083%12 min
SFO → RDM (Bend/Redmond)1,26582%11 min
SFO → BNA (Nashville)1,16377%13 min
SFO → SBP (San Luis Obispo)1,14479%21 min
SFO → BWI (Baltimore)1,11283%8 min
SFO → DCA (Washington)1,09280%11 min
SFO → MFR (Medford)1,02583%12 min
SFO → KOA (Kona)1,00987%8 min
SFO → EUG (Eugene)99882%13 min
SFO → TUS (Tucson)99283%12 min
SFO → RDU (Raleigh/Durham)90289%7 min
SFO → RDD (Redding)89679%27 min
SFO → GEG (Spokane)84781%14 min
SFO → LIH (Lihue)80891%5 min
SFO → STL (St. Louis)80370%18 min

Compare airlines departing SFO ↓

Where flights into SFO come from

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
LAX (Los Angeles) → SFO10,83272%17 min
SEA (Seattle) → SFO6,76172%18 min
JFK (New York) → SFO6,70778%17 min
SAN (San Diego) → SFO6,54369%20 min
LAS (Las Vegas) → SFO6,04469%19 min
ORD (Chicago) → SFO5,60773%20 min
DEN (Denver) → SFO5,39171%19 min
SNA (Santa Ana) → SFO4,78075%18 min

Most reliable routes

  1. SFO → LIH91%
  2. SFO → RDU89%
  3. SFO → OGG89%
  4. SFO → CLE89%
  5. SFO → KOA87%

Most delay-prone routes

  1. SFO → ASE67%
  2. SFO → STL70%
  3. SFO → SAN71%
  4. SFO → EGE74%
  5. SFO → OTH75%

What causes delays at SFO

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

  • Late-arriving aircraft43%
  • Airline operations32%
  • National airspace system21%
  • Weather3%

Alternative airports near San Francisco

Other airports within 120 miles, compared on departure reliability.

AirportDistanceOn-time departuresAvg delay
OAK — Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport11 mi80%12 min
SJC — Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport30 mi84%10 min
SCK — Stockton Metropolitan Airport65 mi65%37 min
STS — Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport66 mi80%15 min
MRY — Monterey Regional Airport77 mi84%15 min

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

Airline performance at SFO

AirlineOn-time departuresAvg delayFlights
Hawaiian Airlines83%14 min1,417
United Airlines83%12 min114,440
JetBlue Airways82%15 min8,477
SkyWest Airlines80%16 min64,919
Delta Air Lines80%16 min26,820
American Airlines79%22 min23,154
Alaska Airlines79%13 min22,108
Frontier Airlines66%29 min8,261
Southwest Airlines65%22 min16,736

Frequently asked questions

How often are flights delayed at SFO?
20% of departures from San Francisco International Airport left 15+ minutes late between 2024-06 and 2026-05, with an average departure delay of 15 minutes. The national on-time average over the same period was 78%.
What is the best time of day to depart from SFO?
Flights scheduled around 5 a.m. depart on time 95% of the time at SFO, versus 70% around 3 p.m.. Booking before noon is the usual rule of thumb here.
What is the worst month for delays at SFO?
In this dataset, May 2026 was the weakest month at SFO, with 68% of departures on time.
How often are flights cancelled at SFO?
0.9% of scheduled departures from SFO were cancelled in this period, compared with a national rate of 1.6%.

Popular route pages from this airport

Related guides

Based on 286,333 flights, 2024-06–2026-05. Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Updated 2026-07-01.