FlightRecord

John Wayne Orange County International Airport (SNA): Delays & On-Time Performance

Data through May 2026

John Wayne Orange County International Airport (SNA) in Santa Ana, CA is a middle-of-the-pack performer: 82% of departures are on time, within a few points of the national 78%. It hosts 9 airlines flying 124 departures a day to 40 destinations, with cancellations at 1%.

Departures on-time
82%
left <15 min late
Avg dep delay
14 min
Arrivals on-time
82%
Cancelled
1.0%
Destinations
40
nonstop
Airlines
9

Plan your departure from SNA

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

Best departure time
Around 6 a.m.
94% on-time
Best day to fly
Tuesday
87% on-time
Most reliable airline here
Alaska Airlines
88% on-time from SNA
Cancellation risk
1.0%
below the US average
Check routes from SNA ↓Compare nearby airports ↓

Monthly on-time trend

Monthly departure on-time percentage at SNA50%75%100%June 2024: 79% on-time (3,551 flights)79Jun 2024July 2024: 79% on-time (3,697 flights)79August 2024: 84% on-time (3,707 flights)84September 2024: 86% on-time (3,516 flights)86Sep 2024October 2024: 86% on-time (3,674 flights)86November 2024: 86% on-time (3,580 flights)86December 2024: 80% on-time (3,649 flights)80Dec 2024January 2025: 84% on-time (3,478 flights)84February 2025: 84% on-time (3,186 flights)84March 2025: 84% on-time (3,698 flights)84Mar 2025April 2025: 83% on-time (3,632 flights)83May 2025: 82% on-time (3,935 flights)82June 2025: 78% on-time (3,945 flights)78Jun 2025July 2025: 76% on-time (4,002 flights)76August 2025: 80% on-time (3,918 flights)80September 2025: 83% on-time (3,751 flights)83Sep 2025October 2025: 80% on-time (3,871 flights)80November 2025: 80% on-time (3,756 flights)80December 2025: 77% on-time (3,825 flights)77Dec 2025January 2026: 85% on-time (3,611 flights)85February 2026: 83% on-time (3,343 flights)83March 2026: 84% on-time (3,821 flights)84Mar 2026April 2026: 80% on-time (3,686 flights)80May 2026: 80% on-time (3,835 flights)80

Best time of day to depart from SNA

On-time percentage by scheduled departure hour at SNA6 a.m.: 94% on-time (6,622 flights)67 a.m.: 92% on-time (7,867 flights)78 a.m.: 91% on-time (5,930 flights)89 a.m.: 86% on-time (5,513 flights)910 a.m.: 86% on-time (6,094 flights)1011 a.m.: 81% on-time (7,260 flights)1112 p.m.: 77% on-time (7,066 flights)121 p.m.: 77% on-time (6,495 flights)132 p.m.: 76% on-time (4,931 flights)143 p.m.: 75% on-time (5,116 flights)154 p.m.: 74% on-time (5,322 flights)165 p.m.: 77% on-time (5,197 flights)176 p.m.: 75% on-time (5,384 flights)187 p.m.: 75% on-time (4,928 flights)198 p.m.: 76% on-time (2,951 flights)209 p.m.: 87% on-time (1,991 flights)21scheduled departure hour

By day of week

DayOn-timeAvg delay
Monday82%14 min
Tuesdaybest87%10 min
Wednesday86%10 min
Thursday80%15 min
Friday80%17 min
Saturday86%12 min
Sunday77%16 min

Next: compare the busiest routes from SNA ↓

Busiest routes from SNA

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
SNA → SFO (San Francisco)4,78075%18 min
SNA → PHX (Phoenix)4,57784%12 min
SNA → LAS (Las Vegas)4,38683%12 min
SNA → SEA (Seattle)3,97085%10 min
SNA → DEN (Denver)3,70883%12 min
SNA → DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth)2,90481%18 min
SNA → SJC (San Jose)2,65388%7 min
SNA → OAK (Oakland)2,38587%8 min
SNA → SMF (Sacramento)2,31985%8 min
SNA → ORD (Chicago)2,23779%16 min
SNA → SLC (Salt Lake City)1,85586%13 min
SNA → PDX (Portland)1,54391%6 min
SNA → IAH (Houston)1,09487%11 min
SNA → EWR (Newark)1,09278%26 min
SNA → ATL (Atlanta)1,06381%23 min
SNA → STS (Santa Rosa)74678%15 min
SNA → MSP (Minneapolis)58581%16 min
SNA → PVU (Provo)40967%54 min
SNA → JFK (New York)40172%30 min
SNA → CLT (Charlotte)36486%11 min
SNA → DAL (Dallas)36481%9 min
SNA → AUS (Austin)35285%12 min
SNA → DTW (Detroit)33569%26 min
SNA → BOI (Boise)30082%21 min
SNA → BNA (Nashville)20666%16 min
SNA → TUS (Tucson)12483%10 min
SNA → DSM (Des Moines)11175%28 min
SNA → IDA (Idaho Falls)10474%62 min

Compare airlines departing SNA ↓

Where flights into SNA come from

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
SFO (San Francisco) → SNA4,74981%12 min
PHX (Phoenix) → SNA4,57882%11 min
LAS (Las Vegas) → SNA4,38782%10 min
SEA (Seattle) → SNA3,97285%9 min
DEN (Denver) → SNA3,70881%10 min
DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth) → SNA2,90579%14 min
SJC (San Jose) → SNA2,67988%6 min
OAK (Oakland) → SNA2,38787%7 min

Most reliable routes

  1. SNA → PDX91%
  2. SNA → SJC88%
  3. SNA → IAH87%
  4. SNA → OAK87%
  5. SNA → SLC86%

Most delay-prone routes

  1. SNA → BNA66%
  2. SNA → PVU67%
  3. SNA → DTW69%
  4. SNA → JFK72%
  5. SNA → IDA74%

What causes delays at SNA

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

  • Late-arriving aircraft42%
  • Airline operations31%
  • National airspace system23%
  • Weather4%

Alternative airports near Santa Ana

Other airports within 120 miles, compared on departure reliability.

AirportDistanceOn-time departuresAvg delay
LGB — Long Beach International Airport19 mi84%10 min
ONT — Ontario International Airport30 mi83%12 min
LAX — Los Angeles International Airport36 mi82%14 min
BUR — Hollywood Burbank/Bob Hope Airport46 mi82%13 min
CLD — McClellan-Palomar Airport51 mi88%10 min

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

Airline performance at SNA

AirlineOn-time departuresAvg delayFlights
Alaska Airlines88%7 min8,574
Spirit Airlines87%10 min2,272
United Airlines85%14 min12,166
Delta Air Lines81%18 min9,333
Southwest Airlines80%11 min28,848
SkyWest Airlines80%15 min9,909
American Airlines80%20 min13,169
Frontier Airlines78%20 min2,159
Allegiant Air70%42 min2,237

Frequently asked questions

How often are flights delayed at SNA?
18% of departures from John Wayne Orange County International Airport left 15+ minutes late between 2024-06 and 2026-05, with an average departure delay of 14 minutes. The national on-time average over the same period was 78%.
What is the best time of day to depart from SNA?
Flights scheduled around 6 a.m. depart on time 94% of the time at SNA, versus 74% around 4 p.m.. Booking before noon is the usual rule of thumb here.
What is the worst month for delays at SNA?
In this dataset, July 2025 was the weakest month at SNA, with 76% of departures on time.
How often are flights cancelled at SNA?
1% of scheduled departures from SNA were cancelled in this period, compared with a national rate of 1.6%.

Popular route pages from this airport

Related guides

Based on 88,667 flights, 2024-06–2026-05. Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Updated 2026-07-01.