FlightRecord

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

Data through July 2026

John Wayne Orange County International Airport (SNA) in Santa Ana, CA is a middle-of-the-pack performer: 81% 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
81%
left <15 min late
Avg dep delay
15 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
86% on-time
Most reliable airline here
Spirit 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%August 2024: 84% on-time (3,707 flights)84Aug 2024September 2024: 86% on-time (3,516 flights)86October 2024: 86% on-time (3,674 flights)86November 2024: 86% on-time (3,580 flights)86Nov 2024December 2024: 80% on-time (3,649 flights)80January 2025: 84% on-time (3,478 flights)84February 2025: 84% on-time (3,186 flights)84Feb 2025March 2025: 84% on-time (3,698 flights)84April 2025: 83% on-time (3,632 flights)83May 2025: 82% on-time (3,935 flights)82May 2025June 2025: 78% on-time (3,945 flights)78July 2025: 76% on-time (4,002 flights)76August 2025: 80% on-time (3,918 flights)80Aug 2025September 2025: 83% on-time (3,751 flights)83October 2025: 80% on-time (3,871 flights)80November 2025: 80% on-time (3,756 flights)80Nov 2025December 2025: 77% on-time (3,825 flights)77January 2026: 85% on-time (3,611 flights)85February 2026: 83% on-time (3,343 flights)83Feb 2026March 2026: 84% on-time (3,821 flights)84April 2026: 80% on-time (3,686 flights)80May 2026: 80% on-time (3,835 flights)80May 2026June 2026: 73% on-time (3,822 flights)73July 2026: 74% on-time (3,992 flights)74

Best time of day to depart from SNA

On-time percentage by scheduled departure hour at SNA6 a.m.: 94% on-time (6,962 flights)67 a.m.: 92% on-time (8,238 flights)78 a.m.: 91% on-time (6,105 flights)89 a.m.: 86% on-time (5,823 flights)910 a.m.: 86% on-time (6,439 flights)1011 a.m.: 81% on-time (7,677 flights)1112 p.m.: 76% on-time (7,340 flights)121 p.m.: 76% on-time (6,671 flights)132 p.m.: 74% on-time (5,403 flights)143 p.m.: 75% on-time (5,223 flights)154 p.m.: 74% on-time (5,517 flights)165 p.m.: 76% on-time (5,401 flights)176 p.m.: 73% on-time (5,847 flights)187 p.m.: 74% on-time (5,211 flights)198 p.m.: 75% on-time (3,065 flights)209 p.m.: 86% on-time (2,008 flights)21scheduled departure hour

By day of week

DayOn-timeAvg delay
Monday82%15 min
Tuesdaybest86%11 min
Wednesday85%11 min
Thursday79%16 min
Friday79%17 min
Saturday86%12 min
Sunday77%17 min

Next: compare the busiest routes from SNA ↓

Busiest routes from SNA

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
SNA → SFO (San Francisco)4,77772%19 min
SNA → PHX (Phoenix)4,63683%13 min
SNA → LAS (Las Vegas)4,14682%12 min
SNA → SEA (Seattle)3,95684%10 min
SNA → DEN (Denver)3,68682%12 min
SNA → DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth)2,93680%18 min
SNA → SJC (San Jose)2,67687%7 min
SNA → OAK (Oakland)2,35286%8 min
SNA → SMF (Sacramento)2,31185%8 min
SNA → ORD (Chicago)2,18978%17 min
SNA → SLC (Salt Lake City)1,85686%13 min
SNA → PDX (Portland)1,55092%6 min
SNA → IAH (Houston)1,09287%11 min
SNA → EWR (Newark)1,09179%28 min
SNA → ATL (Atlanta)1,03381%23 min
SNA → STS (Santa Rosa)74578%14 min
SNA → MSP (Minneapolis)57781%16 min
SNA → JFK (New York)46272%33 min
SNA → PVU (Provo)40765%61 min
SNA → CLT (Charlotte)36486%13 min
SNA → DAL (Dallas)36480%10 min
SNA → BOI (Boise)35983%20 min
SNA → AUS (Austin)35284%10 min
SNA → DTW (Detroit)34567%26 min
SNA → BNA (Nashville)15066%16 min
SNA → TUS (Tucson)12483%10 min
SNA → DSM (Des Moines)11176%27 min
SNA → IDA (Idaho Falls)10572%67 min

Compare airlines departing SNA ↓

Where flights into SNA come from

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
SFO (San Francisco) → SNA4,71680%13 min
PHX (Phoenix) → SNA4,63881%12 min
LAS (Las Vegas) → SNA4,15082%11 min
SEA (Seattle) → SNA3,95885%9 min
DEN (Denver) → SNA3,68580%10 min
DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth) → SNA2,93678%15 min
SJC (San Jose) → SNA2,73088%6 min
OAK (Oakland) → SNA2,35487%7 min

Most reliable routes

  1. SNA → PDX92%
  2. SNA → SJC87%
  3. SNA → IAH87%
  4. SNA → CLT86%
  5. SNA → SLC86%

Most delay-prone routes

  1. SNA → PVU65%
  2. SNA → BNA66%
  3. SNA → DTW67%
  4. SNA → IDA72%
  5. SNA → SFO72%

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 aircraft41%
  • 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%13 min
LAX — Los Angeles International Airport36 mi81%14 min
BUR — Hollywood Burbank/Bob Hope Airport46 mi82%13 min
CLD — McClellan-Palomar Airport51 mi84%12 min

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

Airline performance at SNA

AirlineOn-time departuresAvg delayFlights
Spirit Airlines88%10 min2,168
Alaska Airlines88%8 min9,014
United Airlines85%15 min12,713
Delta Air Lines81%18 min9,646
Southwest Airlines80%11 min30,207
American Airlines80%20 min13,812
SkyWest Airlines79%16 min10,651
Frontier Airlines77%21 min2,266
Allegiant Air68%45 min2,453

Frequently asked questions

How often are flights delayed at SNA?
19% of departures from John Wayne Orange County International Airport left 15+ minutes late between 2024-07 and 2026-07, 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 SNA?
Flights scheduled around 6 a.m. depart on time 94% of the time at SNA, versus 73% around 6 p.m.. Booking before noon is the usual rule of thumb here.
What is the worst month for delays at SNA?
In this dataset, June 2026 was the weakest month at SNA, with 73% 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 92,930 flights, 2024-07–2026-07. Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Updated 2026-09-28.