Sacramento, CA · Airport profile
SMF
Sacramento International Airport
83.2% of departures from SMF arrived on time across 172,472 flights, July 2023 – July 2026. The weakest hour is 9 PM, at 70.4%. Late-arriving aircraft accounts for the most delay minutes.
SMF 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 05:20Z.
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 SMF, July 2023 – July 2026.
Better than 93% of major US airports covered by FlyerIntel (64 compared)
Calculated from 172,472 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 97% of 218 comparable airports.
Delta Air Lines arrived on time 90.1% of the time, against 62.8% for JetBlue, 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 SMF
Every cancellation carries a reason code filed by the airline that operated the flight. Departures, July 2023 – July 2026.
Extreme weather accounts for 47.9% of cancelled departures from SMF — about 1 in every 315 scheduled departures. That is 12 points lower than the 59.5% recorded across every airport FlyerIntel covers.
Share of cancellations
Of 1,144 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.
548 cancellations, 47.9% of the total.
Crew, maintenance, aircraft cleaning, baggage or fueling: what BTS counts as within the carrier’s own control.
472 cancellations, 41.3% of the total.
Airport capacity, air traffic control flow programs, heavy traffic and ordinary bad weather. A system decision, not the airline’s.
124 cancellations, 10.8% of the total.
A terminal evacuation, a security breach, screening equipment failure, or screening queues over 29 minutes.
0 cancellations, 0.0% of the total.
1,144 of 172,472 scheduled departures from SMF were cancelled. Ordinary bad weather is filed under air traffic, so weather’s full share is larger than its bar.
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; 1,144 were recorded at SMF.
Why flights run late at SMF
Where US DOT attributed the delay minutes on departures from SMF.
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 SMF. Only delays of 15 minutes or more are attributed.
Of the 29,126 departures from SMF that left 15 or more minutes late and have a known inbound aircraft, 63% followed a flight that landed 15 or more minutes late. The other 37% 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%; SMF’s is the 30th highest.
The late flight is the one the same aircraft flew into SMF 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 SMF 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 SMF
Departures from SMF by the weather at the airport in the hour they were scheduled to leave, July 2023 – July 2026.
7.0% of scheduled departures from SMF left in an hour of bad weather. 1.0% of them were cancelled, against 0.6% in normal conditions, and 83.0% of the ones that flew arrived on time, against 83.2%. Those hours held 11% of all cancelled departures. That is about 45 more cancellations than the normal-conditions rate would give.
Cancellations were highest in high wind hours: 2.3% of 1,277 departures, 3.7 times the normal rate.
Airlines filed 48% of SMF’s coded cancellations under extreme weather. By the weather at the airport in the scheduled hour, 11% 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 | 153,76889.2% of all | 0.6% | 81.8% | 83.2% | 8.4 min |
| Any bad weatherIFR or LIFR, or a thunderstorm, snow or ice, fog, heavy rain or high wind | 12,0187.0% of all | 1.0%1.6 times normal | 82.9% | 83.0% | 9.4 min |
| MVFRceiling 1,000 to 3,000 feet or visibility 3 to 5 miles | 6,7863.9% of all | 1.1%1.7 times normal | 82.7% | 83.5% | 8.2 min |
| IFRceiling 500 to 999 feet or visibility 1 to under 3 miles | 4,7722.8% of all | 0.9% | 81.2% | 82.1%1.1 points below normal | 10.0 min |
| LIFRceiling under 500 feet or visibility under 1 mile | 6,0043.5% of all | 0.8% | 85.4% | 84.6%1.4 points above normal | 8.3 min |
| Fogfog or freezing fog reported at the airport | 3,0821.8% of all | 0.8% | 87.0% | 84.8%1.6 points above normal | 8.7 min |
| Heavy rainheavy rain reported at the airport | 2960.2% of all | 0.3% | 72.9% | 72.1%11.1 points below normal | 16.5 min |
| High windwind of 25 knots or more, or gusts of 30 knots or more | 1,2770.7% of all | 2.3%3.7 times normal | 76.8% | 78.6%4.6 points below normal | 12.5 min |
| Low ceilinga broken or overcast layer under 1,000 feet | 8,3474.8% of all | 0.8% | 83.1% | 83.2% | 9.4 min |
| Low visibilityvisibility under 3 miles | 7,9084.6% of all | 0.8% | 84.7% | 83.9% | 8.9 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 (112).
This is the weather reported at SMF 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 99.9% 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 SMF
Cancellations by airline in hours of bad weather at SMF, against the other carriers in the same months, July 2023 – July 2026.
7% of the weather-matched departures from SMF left in an hour of bad weather at the airport. 1.0% of them were cancelled. That is 1.6 times the 0.6% in normal hours. No one carrier holds most of them; 5 airlines have enough to compare.
No airline did clearly better than the others at SMF. SkyWest Airlines (1.6% cancelled against 1.0% for the others) and American Airlines (1.7% cancelled against 1.0% for the others; above them in normal hours too) cancelled more in bad weather than the other carriers did in the same months.
Airlines in bad weather at SMF
Scheduled departures, July 2023 – July 2026| Airline | Bad-weather departures | Cancelled | Other carriers | Normal hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines | 9428% of bad-weather | 0.6% | 1.1% | 1.0%others 0.6% |
| Southwest Airlines | 6,82357% of bad-weather | 1.0% | 1.2% | 0.5%others 0.8% |
| Delta Air Lines | 7346% of bad-weather | 1.0% | 1.0% | 0.7%others 0.6% |
| SkyWest Airlines | 1,84215% of bad-weather | 1.6%above the others | 1.0% | 0.4%others 0.7% |
| American Airlines | 7456% of bad-weather | 1.7%above the others | 1.0% | 1.5%others 0.6% |
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 5 listed airlines flew 92% of the bad-weather departures at SMF; 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 SMF
Time on the ground between one flight and the next of the same aircraft at SMF, and what a late arrival does to the next departure, July 2023 – July 2026.
The median turn at SMF is scheduled for 45 minutes on the ground and takes 52 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 7 minutes by which the typical turn runs over its schedule are about what it is across all airports.
When the aircraft landed 15 or more minutes late (22,168 turns here, 50 minutes late on average), 63% of the turns were finished in no more than the scheduled ground time, against 68% across all airports. 79% of those flights left 15 or more minutes late, against 72%. After an aircraft that landed on time, 9% did (all airports 11%).
Given the turn lengths scheduled here, the network’s rates would give 59% finished in the schedule and 81% leaving late. SMF finishes more late turns in the schedule than the network would, but lateness is passed on about as often. 45% of its late-inbound turns had a scheduled turn of 30 to 44 minutes, against 20% across all airports.
Turns at SMF against all airports
128,992 turns, July 2023 – July 2026| Measure | SMF | All airports | All airports, same turn lengths |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median scheduled turn | 45 min | 56 min | — |
| Median actual turn | 52 min | 63 min | — |
| Turns that began with an aircraft 15+ minutes late | 17% | 19% | — |
| Late turns finished within the schedule | 63% | 68% | 59% |
| Late inbound that left 15+ minutes late | 79% | 72% | 81% |
| On-time inbound that left 15+ minutes late | 9% | 11% | — |
The last column is the network’s rate at the turn lengths scheduled at SMF, 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 SMF with its next departure from it by tail number; the aircraft is never named. These 128,992 turns are 75% of the flights that left SMF 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 SMF 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 SMF apart
Where SMF’s hours, months, airlines and taxi time differ most from the other airports, July 2023 – July 2026.
Flights scheduled to leave SMF at 10 PM arrive on time 85.0% of the time, 13.1 points better than the 71.9% for that hour at the other airports.
July treats SMF better than it treats the rest of the country: 78.7% on time against 70.0% elsewhere, 8.7 points ahead.
Delta Air Lines does better out of SMF than anywhere else it flies: 90.1% on time here, 82.0% on its other departures, 8.1 points apart.
JetBlue’s departures from SMF arrive on time 62.8% of the time, 9.7 points worse than the 72.5% the same airline manages at its other airports.
Taxi-out at SMF averages 13.6 minutes, 5.1 minutes less than the 18.7 minutes elsewhere.
SMF against the other airports
July 2023 – July 2026| Measure | SMF | Elsewhere | Gap | Flights behind it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hour: 10 PM departures | 85.0% | 71.9% | +13.1 pts | 2,744 here, 477,056 elsewhere |
| Month: July | 78.7% | 70.0% | +8.7 pts | 19,888 here, 1,966,595 elsewhere |
| Airline: Delta Air Lines | 90.1% | 82.0% | +8.1 pts | 10,202 here, 3,091,923 elsewhere |
| Airline: JetBlue | 62.8% | 72.5% | −9.7 pts | 995 here, 725,319 elsewhere |
| Taxi-out: Departures | 13.6 min | 18.7 min | −5.1 min | 171,368 here, 17,458,741 elsewhere |
"Elsewhere" is every other covered airport together, taken from the same aggregates as this page with SMF’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 SMF
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 92.0% of the time, against 74.8% 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 5–6 AM was the most reliable slot at SMF (95.5% on time, 1,359 flights) and Sunday 9–10 PM the least (65.4%, 906 flights).
Hour of departure matters more than day of the week: hourly averages sit a typical 7.1 points from the airport-wide rate, weekday averages 2.7 points.
| Hour | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
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| 11 PM–12 AM |
On-time rate, % · stronger color, fewer on time
- 65–69
- 70–74
- 75–79
- 80–84
- 85–89
- 90–94
- 95–99
- 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 5 AM (167 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 AM–6 AM | 95.5% on time1,359 flights | 95.1% on time1,037 flights | 94.6% on time1,028 flights | 94.8% on time1,360 flights | 94.4% on time1,384 flights | 93.8% on time1,272 flights | 95.2% on time1,192 flights |
| 6 AM–7 AM | 93.1% on time2,555 flights | 93.5% on time2,370 flights | 94.7% on time2,345 flights | 94.1% on time2,544 flights | 92.9% on time2,548 flights | 92.3% on time2,207 flights | 93.8% on time2,401 flights |
| 7 AM–8 AM | 89.9% on time1,603 flights | 90.4% on time1,710 flights | 92.3% on time1,704 flights | 89.7% on time1,604 flights | 87.9% on time1,604 flights | 89.3% on time1,591 flights | 90.3% on time1,723 flights |
| 8 AM–9 AM | 88.6% on time1,494 flights | 89.9% on time1,475 flights | 91.3% on time1,478 flights | 89.9% on time1,463 flights | 89.0% on time1,483 flights | 88.7% on time1,331 flights | 89.8% on time1,465 flights |
| 9 AM–10 AM | 88.7% on time1,603 flights | 91.3% on time1,620 flights | 92.1% on time1,601 flights | 88.4% on time1,586 flights | 90.0% on time1,572 flights | 87.1% on time1,286 flights | 89.4% on time1,446 flights |
| 10 AM–11 AM | 86.2% on time1,714 flights | 88.2% on time1,619 flights | 89.2% on time1,609 flights | 85.1% on time1,713 flights | 85.4% on time1,721 flights | 88.1% on time1,356 flights | 85.6% on time1,690 flights |
| 11 AM–12 PM | 83.0% on time1,638 flights | 86.8% on time1,399 flights | 87.5% on time1,455 flights | 82.1% on time1,628 flights | 83.0% on time1,643 flights | 85.8% on time1,163 flights | 83.4% on time1,433 flights |
| 12 PM–1 PM | 83.2% on time1,601 flights | 84.5% on time1,581 flights | 86.7% on time1,552 flights | 81.6% on time1,578 flights | 80.1% on time1,606 flights | 85.9% on time1,322 flights | 82.4% on time1,578 flights |
| 1 PM–2 PM | 79.6% on time1,498 flights | 84.0% on time1,388 flights | 84.4% on time1,380 flights | 79.6% on time1,514 flights | 78.1% on time1,516 flights | 83.8% on time1,143 flights | 80.7% on time1,561 flights |
| 2 PM–3 PM | 73.9% on time1,641 flights | 83.5% on time1,512 flights | 79.3% on time1,532 flights | 74.5% on time1,634 flights | 72.1% on time1,632 flights | 81.1% on time1,168 flights | 72.7% on time1,382 flights |
| 3 PM–4 PM | 74.3% on time1,214 flights | 80.1% on time1,070 flights | 82.1% on time1,045 flights | 71.7% on time1,219 flights | 69.1% on time1,218 flights | 81.0% on time738 flights | 73.5% on time1,220 flights |
| 4 PM–5 PM | 77.3% on time1,339 flights | 82.1% on time1,189 flights | 82.2% on time1,190 flights | 71.4% on time1,327 flights | 70.9% on time1,331 flights | 82.4% on time1,155 flights | 74.3% on time1,264 flights |
| 5 PM–6 PM | 80.0% on time1,146 flights | 83.3% on time1,171 flights | 81.3% on time1,165 flights | 72.6% on time1,156 flights | 69.7% on time1,157 flights | 81.1% on time919 flights | 71.2% on time1,196 flights |
| 6 PM–7 PM | 75.7% on time1,423 flights | 84.5% on time1,095 flights | 80.4% on time1,145 flights | 73.2% on time1,382 flights | 68.2% on time1,440 flights | 78.4% on time754 flights | 66.7% on time1,177 flights |
| 7 PM–8 PM | 76.8% on time1,464 flights | 84.0% on time1,446 flights | 81.7% on time1,507 flights | 71.5% on time1,470 flights | 68.4% on time1,433 flights | 79.5% on time885 flights | 68.3% on time1,386 flights |
| 8 PM–9 PM | 74.3% on time1,303 flights | 81.7% on time960 flights | 79.1% on time961 flights | 67.2% on time1,285 flights | 70.3% on time1,316 flights | 76.3% on time652 flights | 71.9% on time1,226 flights |
| 9 PM–10 PM | 74.6% on time703 flights | 81.9% on time350 flights | 81.8% on time324 flights | 67.3% on time687 flights | 66.6% on time732 flights | 66.1% on time329 flights | 65.4% on time906 flights |
| 10 PM–11 PM | 88.4% on time421 flights | 88.7% on time331 flights | 89.8% on time366 flights | 82.1% on time434 flights | 84.4% on time432 flights | 85.6% on time276 flights | 79.1% on time532 flights |
| 11 PM–12 AM | 75.1% on time622 flights | 82.7% on time540 flights | 77.2% on time560 flights | 79.5% on time645 flights | 78.3% on time634 flights | 74.9% on time553 flights | 72.7% on time645 flights |
By departure window
All days combinedBy departure hour
All days combined- 12 AM: 82.2% on time from 149 flights
- 1 AM to 4 AM: too few flights to score
- 5 AM: 94.8% on time from 8,632 flights
- 6 AM: 93.5% on time from 16,970 flights
- 7 AM: 90.0% on time from 11,539 flights
- 8 AM: 89.6% on time from 10,189 flights
- 9 AM: 89.7% on time from 10,714 flights
- 10 AM: 86.8% on time from 11,422 flights
- 11 AM: 84.4% on time from 10,359 flights
- 12 PM: 83.4% on time from 10,818 flights
- 1 PM: 81.3% on time from 10,000 flights
- 2 PM: 76.5% on time from 10,501 flights
- 3 PM: 75.4% on time from 7,724 flights
- 4 PM: 77.0% on time from 8,795 flights
- 5 PM: 76.9% on time from 7,910 flights
- 6 PM: 74.8% on time from 8,416 flights
- 7 PM: 75.6% on time from 9,591 flights
- 8 PM: 73.7% on time from 7,703 flights
- 9 PM: 70.4% on time from 4,031 flights
- 10 PM: 85.0% on time from 2,792 flights
- 11 PM: 77.1% on time from 4,199 flights
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 Terminal, SMF’s busiest hall, both passport queues run much the same: a typical 10 min on a US passport and 12 min on any other, rising to 20 min on a busy day. Where the two halls agree like this, CBP’s combined figure of 11 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 Terminal | 10 min | 18 min | 12 min | 20 min | 2.2% of arrivals |
US passports — Main Terminal
- 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: too few records to publish
- 11 AM–12 PM: too few records to publish
- 12 PM–1 PM: too few records to publish
- 1 PM–2 PM: too few records to publish
- 2 PM–3 PM: too few records to publish
- 3 PM–4 PM: too few records to publish
- 4 PM–5 PM: too few records to publish
- 5 PM–6 PM: typically 4 min, 8 min on a busy day (186 days)
- 6 PM–7 PM: typically 7 min, 15 min on a busy day (319 days)
- 7 PM–8 PM: typically 9 min, 16 min on a busy day (168 days)
- 8 PM–9 PM: typically 8 min, 16 min on a busy day (120 days)
- 9 PM–10 PM: typically 11 min, 18 min on a busy day (456 days)
- 10 PM–11 PM: typically 10 min, 19 min on a busy day (629 days)
- 11 PM–12 AM: typically 12 min, 20 min on a busy day (620 days)
US citizens and lawful permanent residents, who use the US-passport lanes.
All other passports — Main Terminal
- 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: too few records to publish
- 11 AM–12 PM: too few records to publish
- 12 PM–1 PM: too few records to publish
- 1 PM–2 PM: too few records to publish
- 2 PM–3 PM: too few records to publish
- 3 PM–4 PM: too few records to publish
- 4 PM–5 PM: too few records to publish
- 5 PM–6 PM: typically 4 min, 9 min on a busy day (186 days)
- 6 PM–7 PM: typically 10 min, 19 min on a busy day (319 days)
- 7 PM–8 PM: typically 11 min, 18 min on a busy day (168 days)
- 8 PM–9 PM: typically 10 min, 19 min on a busy day (120 days)
- 9 PM–10 PM: typically 12 min, 21 min on a busy day (456 days)
- 10 PM–11 PM: typically 12 min, 22 min on a busy day (629 days)
- 11 PM–12 AM: typically 13 min, 22 min on a busy day (620 days)
Every other arriving passenger, including visa and visa-waiver travelers.
Hour by hour — Main Terminal
| Cleared in hour | US passports | US busy day | Other passports | Other busy day | Booths open |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 PM–6 PM | 4 min | 8 min | 4 min | 9 min | 4 |
| 6 PM–7 PM | 7 min | 15 min | 10 min | 19 min | 4 |
| 7 PM–8 PM | 9 min | 16 min | 11 min | 18 min | 4 |
| 8 PM–9 PM | 8 min | 16 min | 10 min | 19 min | 4 |
| 9 PM–10 PM | 11 min | 18 min | 12 min | 21 min | 5 |
| 10 PM–11 PM | 10 min | 19 min | 12 min | 22 min | 5 |
| 11 PM–12 AM | 12 min | 20 min | 13 min | 22 min | 5 |
US passports: clearing in the 11 PM–12 AM hour typically takes 12 min, against 4 min in the 5 PM–6 PM hour — 8 min between the slowest and fastest of 7 measured hours.
All other passports: clearing in the 11 PM–12 AM hour typically takes 13 min, against 4 min in the 5 PM–6 PM hour — 9 min between the slowest and fastest of 7 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 SMF
How busy the airport is through the day, from scheduled departure volume.
Scheduled departures by hour
- 12 AM: fewer than one departure a day
- 1 AM: fewer than one departure a day
- 2 AM: no departures
- 3 AM: no departures
- 4 AM: no departures
- 5 AM: about 8 departures a day
- 6 AM: about 15 departures a day
- 7 AM: about 10 departures a day
- 8 AM: about 9 departures a day
- 9 AM: about 10 departures a day
- 10 AM: about 10 departures a day
- 11 AM: about 9 departures a day
- 12 PM: about 10 departures a day
- 1 PM: about 9 departures a day
- 2 PM: about 9 departures a day
- 3 PM: about 7 departures a day
- 4 PM: about 8 departures a day
- 5 PM: about 7 departures a day
- 6 PM: about 7 departures a day
- 7 PM: about 9 departures a day
- 8 PM: about 7 departures a day
- 9 PM: about 4 departures a day
- 10 PM: about 2 departures a day
- 11 PM: about 4 departures a day
The busiest hour is 6 AM, with about 15 departures a day, against roughly 4 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 6.8 percentage points.
By month
- Jan: 85.6% on time
- Feb: 86.4% on time
- Mar: 84.6% on time
- Apr: 84.1% on time
- May: 82.4% on time
- Jun: 78.9% on time
- Jul: 78.7% on time
- Aug: 82.6% on time
- Sep: 85.6% on time
- Oct: 84.1% on time
- Nov: 85.6% on time
- Dec: 82.9% on time
July is historically the weakest month and February the strongest, a spread of 7.7 percentage points.
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026
Airlines at SMF
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 | 96,991 | 82.0% | 0.50% | -5 min |
| SkyWest Airlines OO | 27,203 | 85.3% | 0.48% | -9 min |
| United Airlines UA | 12,738 | 87.0% | 1.00% | -10 min |
| American Airlines AA | 10,991 | 82.2% | 1.53% | -10 min |
| Delta Air Lines DL | 10,297 | 90.1% | 0.69% | -12 min |
| Alaska Airlines AS | 5,129 | 81.7% | 0.99% | -5 min |
| Spirit Airlines NK | 3,120 | 80.6% | 1.41% | -6 min |
| Hawaiian Airlines HA | 2,419 | 81.9% | 0.83% | -4 min |
| Frontier Airlines F9 | 1,877 | 78.5% | 1.49% | -7 min |
| JetBlue B6 | 1,017 | 62.8% | 2.06% | 3 min |
| Envoy Air MQ | 690 | 86.9% | 0.29% | -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 SMF
Ranked by FlyerIntel Route Reliability Score.
Busiest routes
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: 79.4% on time from 4,565 flights
- August 2023: 82.3% on time from 4,704 flights
- September 2023: 86.5% on time from 4,422 flights
- October 2023: 84.2% on time from 4,604 flights
- November 2023: 88.1% on time from 4,394 flights
- December 2023: 88.3% on time from 4,521 flights
- January 2024: 84.5% on time from 4,144 flights
- February 2024: 86.9% on time from 3,730 flights
- March 2024: 84.0% on time from 4,248 flights
- April 2024: 83.6% on time from 4,392 flights
- May 2024: 81.8% on time from 4,630 flights
- June 2024: 80.0% on time from 4,756 flights
- July 2024: 77.7% on time from 5,021 flights
- August 2024: 82.8% on time from 5,055 flights
- September 2024: 85.6% on time from 4,870 flights
- October 2024: 86.7% on time from 5,014 flights
- November 2024: 86.9% on time from 4,658 flights
- December 2024: 81.2% on time from 4,533 flights
- January 2025: 87.3% on time from 4,148 flights
- February 2025: 87.0% on time from 3,976 flights
- March 2025: 85.4% on time from 4,827 flights
- April 2025: 84.9% on time from 4,938 flights
- May 2025: 83.5% on time from 5,191 flights
- June 2025: 78.8% on time from 5,331 flights
- July 2025: 78.9% on time from 5,494 flights
- August 2025: 82.7% on time from 5,089 flights
- September 2025: 84.7% on time from 4,804 flights
- October 2025: 81.5% on time from 4,937 flights
- November 2025: 81.8% on time from 4,662 flights
- December 2025: 79.2% on time from 4,531 flights
- January 2026: 85.0% on time from 4,130 flights
- February 2026: 85.3% on time from 3,935 flights
- March 2026: 84.2% on time from 4,630 flights
- April 2026: 83.8% on time from 4,672 flights
- May 2026: 81.8% on time from 4,945 flights
- June 2026: 78.0% on time from 4,900 flights
- July 2026: 78.8% on time from 5,071 flights
Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), departures from SMF arrived on time 82.2% of the time, against 83.9% in the 12 months before — declining by 1.7 percentage points.
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 172,472 departures from SMF. A flight counts as delayed when it arrives 15 or more minutes after schedule.
Full methodology · All data sources
Related research: Where a Late Aircraft Gets Its Time Back · 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/smf/"><img src="https://flyerintel.com/badge/airport/smf/" alt="Sacramento 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 SMF: METAR KSMF 180753Z 10003KT 10SM CLR 13/06 A2994 RMK AO2 SLP137 T01330056 403110094 (issued ).