San Diego, CA · Airport profile
SAN
San Diego International Airport
77.9% of departures from SAN arrived on time across 297,668 flights, July 2023 – July 2026. The weakest hour is 8 PM, at 69.1%. Late-arriving aircraft accounts for the most delay minutes.
SAN right now
Live conditions where a permitted source publishes them, and the historical record where none does.
Aviation weather is not currently a factor.
Minimal operational impact. Conditions are not a notable factor for operations right now.
UpdatedForecast issued 08:35Z.
UpdatedBelow 10,000 ft, so aircraft overflying at cruise are not counted. These are observations, not an operational status: a count is a floor, since receiver coverage varies and a movement between two samples can be missed.
UpdatedAircraft observations from ADSB.lol (opens in a new tab) (Katia Esposito and contributing feeders), under the ODbL 1.0 (opens in a new tab). Derived data.
FlyerIntel shows live values only where a permitted source provides them. Sections without data are left empty rather than estimated.
Airport reliability
Departures from SAN, July 2023 – July 2026.
Better than 56% of major US airports covered by FlyerIntel (64 compared)
Calculated from 297,668 flights. How this is calculated
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026
What stands out
How this airport compares to others like it, not just to itself.
The airline matters unusually much at this airport, a wider carrier-to-carrier gap than 95% of 218 comparable airports.
Delta Air Lines arrived on time 85.6% of the time, against 60.5% for Allegiant Air, flying out of the exact same airport.
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026 · Ranked against every other airport with the same kind of figure and at least 218 in the comparison.
Why flights are cancelled at SAN
Every cancellation carries a reason code filed by the airline that operated the flight. Departures, July 2023 – July 2026.
Extreme weather accounts for 46.7% of cancelled departures from SAN — about 1 in every 188 scheduled departures. That is 13 points lower than the 59.5% recorded across every airport FlyerIntel covers.
Share of cancellations
Of 3,401 cancelled departures carrying a reason code.
What each reason means
Conditions the carrier judged severe enough to stop the flight: a blizzard, a hurricane, a line of thunderstorms.
1,587 cancellations, 46.7% of the total.
Crew, maintenance, aircraft cleaning, baggage or fueling: what BTS counts as within the carrier’s own control.
1,309 cancellations, 38.5% of the total.
Airport capacity, air traffic control flow programs, heavy traffic and ordinary bad weather. A system decision, not the airline’s.
504 cancellations, 14.8% of the total.
A terminal evacuation, a security breach, screening equipment failure, or screening queues over 29 minutes.
1 cancellation, <0.1% of the total.
3,401 of 297,668 scheduled departures from SAN were cancelled. Ordinary bad weather is filed under air traffic, so weather’s full share is larger than its bar.
By carrier
| Carrier | Cancelled | Rate | Airline | Weather | Air traffic | Security |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines WN | 1,025 | 0.92% | 29% | 52% | 19% | 0% |
| Alaska Airlines AS | 536 | 1.58% | 71% | 25% | 4% | 0% |
Shares are of each carrier’s own coded cancellations at SAN and run across the row, so they total 100%. “Rate” is cancellations as a share of that carrier’s scheduled departures here. Two carriers on the same runways in the same weather can file very different splits, so read this as what each airline reported about itself, not as a ranking of fault. Carriers below the published minimum of coded cancellations are not listed.
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026 · Reason codes are each airline’s own filing, not an independent finding of fault. Shown for airports with at least 500 coded cancellations; 3,401 were recorded at SAN.
Why flights run late at SAN
Where US DOT attributed the delay minutes on departures from SAN.
the inbound aircraft was late, so this flight started late
crew, maintenance, boarding and fueling, all within the carrier’s control
airspace and airport capacity, including weather-driven flow control
weather severe enough to stop this flight specifically
screening or terminal security incidents
Share of the delay minutes US DOT attributed to each cause for departures from SAN. Only delays of 15 minutes or more are attributed.
Of the 60,709 departures from SAN that left 15 or more minutes late and have a known inbound aircraft, 67% followed a flight that landed 15 or more minutes late. The other 33% left late even though the aircraft had come in on time or early. Across the 64 covered airports that share runs from 47% to 73%, with a median of 62%; SAN’s is the 9th highest.
The late flight is the one the same aircraft flew into SAN just before, found from the tail number in the DOT file. Airlines and hours differ from one airport to the next, so this describes the departures from SAN and does not rate the airport.
An airport is only partly the author of its own delays. Late-arriving aircraft describes the national schedule arriving here more than anything about this airfield. Air traffic control covers airspace and airport capacity, which is where a congested airport shows up; only the airline category sits squarely inside the carriers’ own operation. How differently they run it is further down this page.
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026
What weather costs at SAN
Departures from SAN by the weather at the airport in the hour they were scheduled to leave, July 2023 – July 2026.
6.6% of scheduled departures from SAN left in an hour of bad weather. 3.5% of them were cancelled, against 1.0% in normal conditions, and 66.7% of the ones that flew arrived on time, against 78.4%. Those hours held 20% of all cancelled departures. That is about 489 more cancellations than the normal-conditions rate would give.
Cancellations were highest in fog hours: 10.1% of 1,627 departures, 10.2 times the normal rate.
Airlines filed 47% of SAN’s coded cancellations under extreme weather. By the weather at the airport in the scheduled hour, 20% of cancelled departures were in bad-weather hours. A code is the airline’s stated reason and an hour’s weather is what the airport reported, so the two need not match.
By weather
Scheduled departures, July 2023 – July 2026| Weather at the airport | Departures | Cancelled | Left on time | Arrived on time | Avg. departure delay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal conditionsVFR with no thunderstorm, snow or ice, fog, heavy rain or high wind | 203,90368.5% of all | 1.0% | 77.3% | 78.4% | 11.9 min |
| Any bad weatherIFR or LIFR, or a thunderstorm, snow or ice, fog, heavy rain or high wind | 19,7076.6% of all | 3.5%3.5 times normal | 74.3% | 66.7%11.7 points below normal | 22.1 min |
| MVFRceiling 1,000 to 3,000 feet or visibility 3 to 5 miles | 74,06224.9% of all | 1.0% | 79.3% | 79.5%1.1 points above normal | 10.9 min |
| IFRceiling 500 to 999 feet or visibility 1 to under 3 miles | 13,9964.7% of all | 2.3%2.3 times normal | 75.2% | 68.7%9.7 points below normal | 17.9 min |
| LIFRceiling under 500 feet or visibility under 1 mile | 5,4771.8% of all | 6.5%6.5 times normal | 71.9% | 61.3%17.1 points below normal | 33.7 min |
| Fogfog or freezing fog reported at the airport | 1,6270.5% of all | 10.1%10.2 times normal | 75.7% | 69.4%9.0 points below normal | 47.5 min |
| Heavy rainheavy rain reported at the airport | 6600.2% of all | 6.5%6.6 times normal | 63.0% | 63.9%14.5 points below normal | 25.9 min |
| High windwind of 25 knots or more, or gusts of 30 knots or more | 2110.1% of all | 11.8%12.0 times normal | 55.4% | 48.9%29.5 points below normal | 42.8 min |
| Low ceilinga broken or overcast layer under 1,000 feet | 17,9186.0% of all | 3.4%3.5 times normal | 75.1% | 67.0%11.4 points below normal | 21.7 min |
| Low visibilityvisibility under 3 miles | 7,4232.5% of all | 5.8%5.9 times normal | 69.5% | 61.2%17.2 points below normal | 32.1 min |
A departure is counted in every row its hour fits, so the rows overlap and do not add up. Left on time is a departure under 15 minutes late, and arrived on time an arrival under 15 minutes late; cancelled is the share of scheduled departures. Rows with fewer than 120 departures are not scored. Too few departures to score: thunderstorm (83).
This is the weather reported at SAN in the hour a flight was scheduled to leave. It leaves out the weather at the destination and on the way, weather that arrived after the scheduled time, and anything else that goes wrong in a bad hour. An hour takes the worst conditions any report in it gave. Weather was matched to 100.0% of the airport’s scheduled departures; the rest left in hours with no report, or at a scheduled time the flight records cannot place exactly. Bad-weather hours are compared with normal hours at the same airport, not with what the same flights would have done in a clear sky: they also fall more often in some seasons and at some times of day.
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS flight records and Iowa Environmental Mesonet weather reports · July 2023 – July 2026 · Where the weather comes from, and its limits. All covered airports side by side: What Weather Costs Each Airport.
Which airlines hold up in bad weather at SAN
Cancellations by airline in hours of bad weather at SAN, against the other carriers in the same months, July 2023 – July 2026.
7% of the weather-matched departures from SAN left in an hour of bad weather at the airport. 3.5% of them were cancelled. That is 3.5 times the 1.0% in normal hours. No one carrier holds most of them; 7 airlines have enough to compare.
Compared with the other carriers at SAN in the same months, Delta Air Lines (1.6% cancelled against 3.7% for the others; level with them in normal hours, so a bad-weather difference) cancelled the fewest in bad weather and SkyWest Airlines (5.5% cancelled against 3.3% for the others; level with them in normal hours, so a bad-weather difference) the most. 4 more airlines are also clearly apart from the others.
Airlines in bad weather at SAN
Scheduled departures, July 2023 – July 2026| Airline | Bad-weather departures | Cancelled | Other carriers | Normal hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines | 2,19111% of bad-weather | 1.6%below the others | 3.7% | 0.8%others 1.0% |
| American Airlines | 2,20011% of bad-weather | 1.7%below the others | 3.7% | 1.4%others 1.0% |
| United Airlines | 2,19011% of bad-weather | 2.8%below the others | 3.5% | 1.1%others 1.0% |
| Alaska Airlines | 2,27812% of bad-weather | 3.2% | 3.6% | 1.5%others 0.9% |
| Southwest Airlines | 6,79334% of bad-weather | 4.5%above the others | 3.2% | 0.7%others 1.2% |
| Frontier Airlines | 5803% of bad-weather | 5.1%above the others | 3.4% | 1.8%others 0.9% |
| SkyWest Airlines | 2,62913% of bad-weather | 5.5%above the others | 3.3% | 0.9%others 1.0% |
Best first. The other carriers’ column applies their rate in each month to the airline’s own departures, so a stormy month is not held against it; the normal-hours column gives the same pair outside bad weather.
The 7 listed airlines flew 96% of the bad-weather departures at SAN; a carrier under 500 is not listed. The comparison does not hold the hour of the day, the destination or the aircraft fixed, and a gap counts as clear only at 2 standard errors and 0.3 points. SkyWest Airlines flies for Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, American Airlines and Alaska Airlines and is counted as a carrier of its own here, though it shares the airport’s gates, its de-icing and often its decisions to cancel.
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS flight records and Iowa Environmental Mesonet weather reports · July 2023 – July 2026 · Where the weather comes from, and its limits. All covered airports side by side: What Weather Costs Each Airport.
Turning aircraft around at SAN
Time on the ground between one flight and the next of the same aircraft at SAN, and what a late arrival does to the next departure, July 2023 – July 2026.
The median turn at SAN is scheduled for 52 minutes on the ground and takes 58 minutes, against 56 minutes and 63 minutes across all airports. Aircraft are given less time on the ground here than at the typical airport. The 6 minutes by which the typical turn runs over its schedule are about what it is across all airports. 22.2% of turns here began with an aircraft that landed 15 or more minutes late, above the 18.9% for all airports.
When the aircraft landed 15 or more minutes late (50,763 turns here, 50 minutes late on average), 64% of the turns were finished in no more than the scheduled ground time, against 68% across all airports. 77% of those flights left 15 or more minutes late, against 72%. After an aircraft that landed on time, 10% did (all airports 11%).
Given the turn lengths scheduled here, the network’s rates would give 63% finished in the schedule and 78% leaving late. At these turn lengths SAN looks like the network on both counts: late turns are finished in the schedule, and lateness passed on, about as often as elsewhere.
Turns at SAN against all airports
228,958 turns, July 2023 – July 2026| Measure | SAN | All airports | All airports, same turn lengths |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median scheduled turn | 52 min | 56 min | — |
| Median actual turn | 58 min | 63 min | — |
| Turns that began with an aircraft 15+ minutes late | 22% | 19% | — |
| Late turns finished within the schedule | 64% | 68% | 63% |
| Late inbound that left 15+ minutes late | 77% | 72% | 78% |
| On-time inbound that left 15+ minutes late | 10% | 11% | — |
The last column is the network’s rate at the turn lengths scheduled at SAN, band by band from under 30 minutes to 3 to 6 hours. A turn finishes within the schedule when the aircraft spent no more time on the ground than the schedule gave it.
A turn pairs an aircraft’s landing at SAN with its next departure from it by tail number; the aircraft is never named. These 228,958 turns are 77% of the flights that left SAN in the period; the rest are an aircraft’s first flight after a long stay, flights without a usable inbound, and cancelled flights. Ground time runs from the gate. Turns under 30 minutes are kept, but most leave late even after an on-time landing. Airlines set their own turn schedules, so this describes the airlines that fly at SAN and does not rate the airport.
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS flight records · July 2023 – July 2026 · Airports side by side: Where a Late Aircraft Gets Its Time Back.
What sets SAN apart
Where SAN’s hours, months, airlines and taxi time differ most from the other airports, July 2023 – July 2026.
Flights scheduled to leave SAN at 10 PM arrive on time 87.6% of the time, 16.1 points better than the 71.5% for that hour at the other airports.
12 PM is where SAN falls furthest behind the rest: 74.9% of its 12 PM departures arrive on time, 4.9 points below the 79.8% for that hour elsewhere.
January treats SAN better than it treats the rest of the country: 82.8% on time against 78.7% elsewhere, 4.1 points ahead.
October is SAN’s hardest month against the field, 77.0% on time to 83.4% elsewhere, 6.4 points short.
American Airlines does better out of SAN than anywhere else it flies: 80.5% on time here, 74.8% on its other departures, 5.7 points apart.
Hawaiian Airlines’ departures from SAN arrive on time 67.8% of the time, 16 points worse than the 83.8% the same airline manages at its other airports.
Departing aircraft spend 21.2 minutes on average between pushback and takeoff at SAN, 2.5 minutes more than the 18.7 minutes at the other airports.
SAN against the other airports
July 2023 – July 2026| Measure | SAN | Elsewhere | Gap | Flights behind it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hour: 10 PM departures | 87.6% | 71.5% | +16.1 pts | 11,465 here, 468,335 elsewhere |
| Hour: 12 PM departures | 74.9% | 79.8% | −4.9 pts | 19,053 here, 963,863 elsewhere |
| Month: January | 82.8% | 78.7% | +4.1 pts | 20,940 here, 1,268,851 elsewhere |
| Month: October | 77.0% | 83.4% | −6.4 pts | 24,824 here, 1,468,081 elsewhere |
| Airline: American Airlines | 80.5% | 74.8% | +5.7 pts | 28,081 here, 2,928,558 elsewhere |
| Airline: Hawaiian Airlines | 67.8% | 83.8% | −16.0 pts | 1,909 here, 195,575 elsewhere |
| Taxi-out: Departures | 21.2 min | 18.7 min | +2.5 min | 294,408 here, 17,335,701 elsewhere |
"Elsewhere" is every other covered airport together, taken from the same aggregates as this page with SAN’s own flights removed (for airlines, that airline’s flights from all its other airports). Hours, months and airlines appear only where both sides have at least 120 completed flights (airlines 500) and the gap is at least 2 points and 2 standard errors; only the largest gap in each direction is shown. The taxi figure is weighted by departures and has no error estimate, so it appears from 2 minutes.
Best time to fly from SAN
On-time arrival rate by scheduled local departure time: each weekday and hour, and averaged over the week.
Flights departing 5–9 AM arrived on time 87.0% of the time, against 69.8% for 6–9 PM departures — a gap of 17.2 percentage points.
By day and hour
On-time arrival rate for each weekday and scheduled departure hour, in local time.
Monday 6–7 AM was the most reliable slot at SAN (93.1% on time, 4,000 flights) and Sunday 8–9 PM the least (61.5%, 2,439 flights).
Hour of departure matters more than day of the week: hourly averages sit a typical 6.7 points from the airport-wide rate, weekday averages 4.0 points.
| Hour | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 AM–7 AM | |||||||
| 7 AM–8 AM | |||||||
| 8 AM–9 AM | |||||||
| 9 AM–10 AM | |||||||
| 10 AM–11 AM | |||||||
| 11 AM–12 PM | |||||||
| 12 PM–1 PM | |||||||
| 1 PM–2 PM | |||||||
| 2 PM–3 PM | |||||||
| 3 PM–4 PM | |||||||
| 4 PM–5 PM | |||||||
| 5 PM–6 PM | |||||||
| 6 PM–7 PM | |||||||
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| 9 PM–10 PM | |||||||
| 10 PM–11 PM |
On-time rate, % · stronger color, fewer on time
- 60–64
- 65–69
- 70–74
- 75–79
- 80–84
- 85–89
- 90–94
- Most reliable slot
- Least reliable slot
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026 · On time is arrival within 15 minutes of schedule. Cells round to whole percentages; the table shows one decimal.
Best and worst slots are named only among slots with 500+ flights, and only when the gap is larger than sampling error. Departures before 6 AM and after 11 PM (10 flights) are not drawn: no slot in those hours has enough flights to score.
View as tableHide table
| Hour | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 AM–7 AM | 93.1% on time4,000 flights | 92.6% on time3,528 flights | 93.0% on time3,526 flights | 91.9% on time3,983 flights | 90.3% on time3,996 flights | 92.4% on time3,512 flights | 91.9% on time3,919 flights |
| 7 AM–8 AM | 86.3% on time2,961 flights | 87.7% on time2,832 flights | 88.0% on time2,811 flights | 86.6% on time2,974 flights | 83.0% on time2,944 flights | 88.4% on time2,833 flights | 84.6% on time2,978 flights |
| 8 AM–9 AM | 80.7% on time3,528 flights | 84.7% on time3,279 flights | 84.6% on time3,293 flights | 80.9% on time3,550 flights | 78.4% on time3,577 flights | 83.0% on time3,192 flights | 80.5% on time3,576 flights |
| 9 AM–10 AM | 78.3% on time2,793 flights | 82.7% on time2,508 flights | 83.8% on time2,502 flights | 78.5% on time2,783 flights | 75.5% on time2,821 flights | 81.1% on time2,419 flights | 79.0% on time2,673 flights |
| 10 AM–11 AM | 80.5% on time3,184 flights | 84.0% on time3,086 flights | 82.0% on time3,089 flights | 80.5% on time3,164 flights | 74.7% on time3,125 flights | 82.1% on time2,726 flights | 79.0% on time3,146 flights |
| 11 AM–12 PM | 77.8% on time2,646 flights | 82.1% on time2,549 flights | 78.8% on time2,596 flights | 75.4% on time2,664 flights | 73.0% on time2,671 flights | 79.9% on time2,435 flights | 73.7% on time2,640 flights |
| 12 PM–1 PM | 74.1% on time2,849 flights | 80.9% on time2,780 flights | 78.0% on time2,770 flights | 71.7% on time2,858 flights | 68.8% on time2,865 flights | 80.6% on time2,378 flights | 71.6% on time2,780 flights |
| 1 PM–2 PM | 72.4% on time3,094 flights | 79.7% on time2,742 flights | 79.0% on time2,774 flights | 68.4% on time3,111 flights | 68.1% on time3,132 flights | 77.7% on time2,544 flights | 69.8% on time2,982 flights |
| 2 PM–3 PM | 69.6% on time2,423 flights | 80.5% on time2,234 flights | 79.6% on time2,259 flights | 68.3% on time2,380 flights | 68.5% on time2,403 flights | 79.8% on time1,945 flights | 71.7% on time2,370 flights |
| 3 PM–4 PM | 71.8% on time2,175 flights | 81.2% on time1,896 flights | 78.7% on time1,942 flights | 70.3% on time2,154 flights | 68.2% on time2,179 flights | 80.6% on time1,731 flights | 69.6% on time2,180 flights |
| 4 PM–5 PM | 70.0% on time2,337 flights | 82.3% on time1,986 flights | 78.0% on time2,036 flights | 66.2% on time2,324 flights | 65.3% on time2,313 flights | 79.5% on time1,829 flights | 67.8% on time2,300 flights |
| 5 PM–6 PM | 70.2% on time2,379 flights | 81.3% on time2,025 flights | 79.4% on time2,056 flights | 67.1% on time2,278 flights | 66.9% on time2,327 flights | 82.0% on time1,906 flights | 69.4% on time2,250 flights |
| 6 PM–7 PM | 68.7% on time2,141 flights | 79.5% on time1,815 flights | 76.8% on time1,927 flights | 63.9% on time2,231 flights | 64.7% on time2,171 flights | 76.8% on time1,614 flights | 67.6% on time2,118 flights |
| 7 PM–8 PM | 69.8% on time2,237 flights | 79.3% on time1,956 flights | 74.9% on time2,042 flights | 63.6% on time2,196 flights | 64.5% on time2,255 flights | 76.2% on time1,430 flights | 62.7% on time2,270 flights |
| 8 PM–9 PM | 65.0% on time2,335 flights | 82.0% on time1,911 flights | 77.8% on time1,866 flights | 63.9% on time2,324 flights | 63.5% on time2,346 flights | 77.1% on time1,501 flights | 61.5% on time2,439 flights |
| 9 PM–10 PM | 74.1% on time2,157 flights | 85.7% on time1,462 flights | 83.1% on time1,496 flights | 72.8% on time2,166 flights | 72.2% on time2,247 flights | 82.2% on time1,501 flights | 67.3% on time2,490 flights |
| 10 PM–11 PM | 87.2% on time1,739 flights | 92.3% on time1,591 flights | 90.3% on time1,567 flights | 83.4% on time1,733 flights | 87.3% on time1,752 flights | 90.6% on time1,527 flights | 83.4% on time1,817 flights |
By departure window
All days combinedBy departure hour
All days combined- 12 AM to 5 AM: too few flights to score
- 6 AM: 92.2% on time from 26,464 flights
- 7 AM: 86.3% on time from 20,333 flights
- 8 AM: 81.7% on time from 23,995 flights
- 9 AM: 79.7% on time from 18,499 flights
- 10 AM: 80.4% on time from 21,520 flights
- 11 AM: 77.2% on time from 18,201 flights
- 12 PM: 74.9% on time from 19,280 flights
- 1 PM: 73.3% on time from 20,379 flights
- 2 PM: 73.7% on time from 16,014 flights
- 3 PM: 73.9% on time from 14,257 flights
- 4 PM: 72.2% on time from 15,125 flights
- 5 PM: 73.3% on time from 15,221 flights
- 6 PM: 70.6% on time from 14,017 flights
- 7 PM: 69.6% on time from 14,386 flights
- 8 PM: 69.1% on time from 14,722 flights
- 9 PM: 75.5% on time from 13,519 flights
- 10 PM: 87.6% on time from 11,726 flights
- 11 PM: too few flights to score
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026 · Buckets with fewer than 120 flights are not scored.
International arrivals
How long passport control normally takes here, hour by hour and hall by hall. This is the arrivals queue, not departure security — and it is history, not a live wait.
At Main, SAN’s busiest hall, both passport queues run much the same: a typical 18 min on a US passport and 21 min on any other, rising to 32 min on a busy day. Where the two halls agree like this, CBP’s combined figure of 19 min is a fair summary of both — which is not true everywhere, and is why they are shown apart.
Terminal by terminal, across the day
| Terminal | US passports | US busy day | Other passports | Other busy day | Global Entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Main | 18 min | 26 min | 21 min | 32 min | 17.6% of arrivals |
US passports — Main
- 12 AM–1 AM: too few records to publish
- 1 AM–2 AM: too few records to publish
- 2 AM–3 AM: too few records to publish
- 3 AM–4 AM: too few records to publish
- 4 AM–5 AM: too few records to publish
- 5 AM–6 AM: too few records to publish
- 6 AM–7 AM: too few records to publish
- 7 AM–8 AM: too few records to publish
- 8 AM–9 AM: too few records to publish
- 9 AM–10 AM: too few records to publish
- 10 AM–11 AM: typically 20 min, 28 min on a busy day (138 days)
- 11 AM–12 PM: typically 19 min, 25 min on a busy day (377 days)
- 12 PM–1 PM: typically 15 min, 23 min on a busy day (307 days)
- 1 PM–2 PM: typically 13 min, 22 min on a busy day (216 days)
- 2 PM–3 PM: typically 17 min, 25 min on a busy day (500 days)
- 3 PM–4 PM: typically 19 min, 27 min on a busy day (672 days)
- 4 PM–5 PM: typically 17 min, 25 min on a busy day (415 days)
- 5 PM–6 PM: typically 18 min, 27 min on a busy day (498 days)
- 6 PM–7 PM: typically 19 min, 28 min on a busy day (357 days)
- 7 PM–8 PM: too few records to publish
- 8 PM–9 PM: too few records to publish
- 9 PM–10 PM: too few records to publish
- 10 PM–11 PM: too few records to publish
- 11 PM–12 AM: too few records to publish
US citizens and lawful permanent residents, who use the US-passport lanes.
All other passports — Main
- 12 AM–1 AM: too few records to publish
- 1 AM–2 AM: too few records to publish
- 2 AM–3 AM: too few records to publish
- 3 AM–4 AM: too few records to publish
- 4 AM–5 AM: too few records to publish
- 5 AM–6 AM: too few records to publish
- 6 AM–7 AM: too few records to publish
- 7 AM–8 AM: too few records to publish
- 8 AM–9 AM: too few records to publish
- 9 AM–10 AM: too few records to publish
- 10 AM–11 AM: typically 22 min, 33 min on a busy day (138 days)
- 11 AM–12 PM: typically 22 min, 32 min on a busy day (377 days)
- 12 PM–1 PM: typically 17 min, 28 min on a busy day (307 days)
- 1 PM–2 PM: typically 13 min, 25 min on a busy day (216 days)
- 2 PM–3 PM: typically 20 min, 30 min on a busy day (500 days)
- 3 PM–4 PM: typically 23 min, 34 min on a busy day (672 days)
- 4 PM–5 PM: typically 20 min, 33 min on a busy day (415 days)
- 5 PM–6 PM: typically 21 min, 34 min on a busy day (498 days)
- 6 PM–7 PM: typically 22 min, 32 min on a busy day (357 days)
- 7 PM–8 PM: too few records to publish
- 8 PM–9 PM: too few records to publish
- 9 PM–10 PM: too few records to publish
- 10 PM–11 PM: too few records to publish
- 11 PM–12 AM: too few records to publish
Every other arriving passenger, including visa and visa-waiver travelers.
Hour by hour — Main
| Cleared in hour | US passports | US busy day | Other passports | Other busy day | Booths open |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 AM–11 AM | 20 min | 28 min | 22 min | 33 min | 6 |
| 11 AM–12 PM | 19 min | 25 min | 22 min | 32 min | 7 |
| 12 PM–1 PM | 15 min | 23 min | 17 min | 28 min | 7 |
| 1 PM–2 PM | 13 min | 22 min | 13 min | 25 min | 6 |
| 2 PM–3 PM | 17 min | 25 min | 20 min | 30 min | 8 |
| 3 PM–4 PM | 19 min | 27 min | 23 min | 34 min | 8 |
| 4 PM–5 PM | 17 min | 25 min | 20 min | 33 min | 8 |
| 5 PM–6 PM | 18 min | 27 min | 21 min | 34 min | 7 |
| 6 PM–7 PM | 19 min | 28 min | 22 min | 32 min | 7 |
US passports: clearing in the 10 AM–11 AM hour typically takes 20 min, against 13 min in the 1 PM–2 PM hour — 7 min between the slowest and fastest of 9 measured hours.
All other passports: clearing in the 3 PM–4 PM hour typically takes 23 min, against 13 min in the 1 PM–2 PM hour — 10 min between the slowest and fastest of 9 measured hours.
The hour is when CBP processed the passenger, not when the aircraft landed — allow for the walk from the gate. Hours with fewer than 120 days of records are not listed rather than shown as an estimate, which is why a terminal’s quietest hours are usually absent. “Busy day” is the 90th percentile: one arrival in ten is worse than that. Booths are how many CBP had open, and they follow the queue rather than prevent it — the busiest hours are staffed hardest and are still the slowest.
Source: US Customs and Border Protection · 2024-08-28 to 2026-10-16 · These are CBP passport control waits for arriving international passengers — a different queue from TSA departure screening. CBP publishes them about two days in arrears, so every figure here describes what has been typical over 2024-08-28 to 2026-10-16, and none of it is a live queue or a forecast for your flight. US and non-US passengers are reported separately by CBP and are kept separate here, because they are separate halls. FlyerIntel publishes a terminal or an hour only where CBP filed at least 120 hourly records for it, and an hour-by-hour breakdown only where at least 6 hours clear that floor.
What to expect at SAN
How busy the airport is through the day, from scheduled departure volume.
Scheduled departures by hour
- 12 AM: no departures
- 1 AM: no departures
- 2 AM: fewer than one departure a day
- 3 AM: no departures
- 4 AM: no departures
- 5 AM: no departures
- 6 AM: about 23 departures a day
- 7 AM: about 18 departures a day
- 8 AM: about 21 departures a day
- 9 AM: about 16 departures a day
- 10 AM: about 19 departures a day
- 11 AM: about 16 departures a day
- 12 PM: about 17 departures a day
- 1 PM: about 18 departures a day
- 2 PM: about 14 departures a day
- 3 PM: about 13 departures a day
- 4 PM: about 13 departures a day
- 5 PM: about 14 departures a day
- 6 PM: about 12 departures a day
- 7 PM: about 13 departures a day
- 8 PM: about 13 departures a day
- 9 PM: about 12 departures a day
- 10 PM: about 10 departures a day
- 11 PM: fewer than one departure a day
The busiest hour is 6 AM, with about 23 departures a day, against roughly 12 at 9 PM. That peak is also more punctual than a typical hour here: early banks fly aircraft that spent the night on the ground rather than ones inheriting the day’s delays.
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026 · Taxi-out runs from gate to wheels-up, averaged over departures and weighted by hour. Taxi-in runs from touchdown to gate.
Weekly and seasonal patterns
By day of week
Tuesday is historically the most reliable day and Friday the least, a gap of 10.4 percentage points.
By month
- Jan: 82.8% on time
- Feb: 82.4% on time
- Mar: 78.5% on time
- Apr: 80.4% on time
- May: 77.6% on time
- Jun: 72.2% on time
- Jul: 71.7% on time
- Aug: 77.5% on time
- Sep: 81.8% on time
- Oct: 77.0% on time
- Nov: 81.2% on time
- Dec: 76.9% on time
July is historically the weakest month and January the strongest, a spread of 11.1 percentage points.
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026
Airlines at SAN
Departure performance by operating carrier. Regional flights are reported by the carrier that operated them, not by the mainline brand.
| Carrier | Departures | On time | Cancelled | Median delay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines WN | 110,930 | 75.3% | 0.92% | -3 min |
| SkyWest Airlines OO | 41,248 | 77.3% | 1.20% | -4 min |
| Alaska Airlines AS | 33,927 | 78.0% | 1.58% | -5 min |
| United Airlines UA | 32,235 | 82.1% | 1.16% | -8 min |
| Delta Air Lines DL | 29,356 | 85.6% | 0.75% | -8 min |
| American Airlines AA | 28,612 | 80.5% | 1.37% | -8 min |
| Frontier Airlines F9 | 8,449 | 68.7% | 2.21% | -1 min |
| JetBlue B6 | 5,306 | 74.2% | 1.36% | -7 min |
| Spirit Airlines NK | 5,162 | 79.3% | 1.51% | -7 min |
| Hawaiian Airlines HA | 1,937 | 67.8% | 0.83% | 4 min |
| Allegiant Air G4 | 506 | 60.5% | 0.99% | 9 min |
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026 · Carriers with fewer than 500 departures are not listed.
Routes from SAN
Ranked by FlyerIntel Route Reliability Score.
Most reliable
Busiest routes
| Destination | Flights | On time | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAN → LAS Las Vegas | 20,121 | 75.2% | 59 |
| SAN → SFO San Francisco | 20,040 | 66.7% | 47 |
| SAN → PHX Phoenix | 17,685 | 77.5% | 64 |
| SAN → DEN Denver | 17,515 | 78.9% | 68 |
| SAN → SJC San Jose | 16,699 | 78.1% | 71 |
| SAN → SMF Sacramento | 16,348 | 77.1% | 71 |
| SAN → SEA Seattle | 14,319 | 81.5% | 73 |
| SAN → DFW Dallas–Fort Worth | 11,013 | 76.2% | 51 |
| SAN → OAK Oakland | 10,639 | 76.7% | 68 |
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026 · Only routes with at least 10,000 flights are ranked.
Reliability over time
On-time arrival rate for departures, by month.
- July 2023: 75.8% on time from 8,128 flights
- August 2023: 78.6% on time from 8,058 flights
- September 2023: 84.6% on time from 7,612 flights
- October 2023: 80.8% on time from 8,026 flights
- November 2023: 86.2% on time from 7,673 flights
- December 2023: 85.7% on time from 7,848 flights
- January 2024: 81.6% on time from 7,075 flights
- February 2024: 82.2% on time from 6,581 flights
- March 2024: 78.7% on time from 7,577 flights
- April 2024: 79.9% on time from 7,584 flights
- May 2024: 77.8% on time from 7,936 flights
- June 2024: 72.3% on time from 8,291 flights
- July 2024: 69.7% on time from 8,721 flights
- August 2024: 77.2% on time from 8,577 flights
- September 2024: 79.0% on time from 7,942 flights
- October 2024: 71.3% on time from 8,377 flights
- November 2024: 80.4% on time from 7,908 flights
- December 2024: 69.8% on time from 8,075 flights
- January 2025: 83.5% on time from 7,189 flights
- February 2025: 80.9% on time from 6,607 flights
- March 2025: 78.7% on time from 7,939 flights
- April 2025: 80.5% on time from 7,959 flights
- May 2025: 78.3% on time from 8,455 flights
- June 2025: 73.4% on time from 8,558 flights
- July 2025: 73.9% on time from 8,776 flights
- August 2025: 76.7% on time from 8,406 flights
- September 2025: 81.9% on time from 7,875 flights
- October 2025: 79.0% on time from 8,687 flights
- November 2025: 77.1% on time from 8,246 flights
- December 2025: 75.4% on time from 8,228 flights
- January 2026: 83.1% on time from 7,406 flights
- February 2026: 84.0% on time from 7,008 flights
- March 2026: 78.2% on time from 8,547 flights
- April 2026: 80.8% on time from 8,505 flights
- May 2026: 76.9% on time from 8,947 flights
- June 2026: 71.1% on time from 8,996 flights
- July 2026: 68.1% on time from 9,345 flights
Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), departures from SAN arrived on time 77.4% of the time, against 77.1% in the 12 months before — broadly unchanged.
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026
Data and sources
Historical statistics
Every historical figure on this page is calculated by FlyerIntel from US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics on-time performance records covering July 2023 – July 2026, comprising 297,668 departures from SAN. A flight counts as delayed when it arrives 15 or more minutes after schedule.
Full methodology · All data sources
Related research: The Day After the Holiday · The Least Reliable Hour of the Week · The Best Major Airports for a Tight Connection · Which Months Cancel the Most Flights
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<a href="https://flyerintel.com/airports/san/"><img src="https://flyerintel.com/badge/airport/san/" alt="San Diego International Airport on-time performance, from FlyerIntel"></a>Live conditions
Aviation weather comes from the NOAA Aviation Weather Center. Operational events come from the FAA where available. FlyerIntel shows the age of every live value and does not display data it cannot currently retrieve.
Latest observation for SAN: METAR KSAN 180851Z 33003KT 10SM FEW100 20/08 A2999 RMK AO2 SLP154 T02000083 56004 $ (issued ).