74% of flights leaving San Francisco (SFO) arrived on time over the past 12 months, 2 points worse than the national average of 76%. That ranks 61 of 76 large U.S. airports. About 415 flights leave SFO on a typical day; 1.1% were cancelled. 74% pushed back from the gate on time, so most of the lateness is already there when the flight leaves the gate.
At a glance
- Best hour to fly: 5 a.m. (95% on time). Worst: 3 p.m. (62%).
- Best month: October (83%). Worst: July (70%).
- Most reliable airline here: United Airlines (78%), vs Southwest Airlines at 54%.
- Biggest delay cause: late-arriving aircraft (46% of delay minutes).
- Year on year: getting worse (80% → 74%).
How late?
The on-time rate treats a flight 20 minutes late the same as one 5 hours late. Here's the split for flights leaving SFO: when a flight was late, it was under 45 minutes late 54% of the time. About 1 in 12 flights landed an hour or more late, and 1 in 78 three hours or more; 1.1% were cancelled outright.
- On time or early74%
- 15–30 min late8.5%
- 30–60 min late7.8%
- 1–2 hours late5.4%
- 2–3 hours late1.6%
- 3+ hours late1.3%
- Diverted0.3%
- Cancelled1.1%
Share of all 151,553 scheduled flights, past 12 months, by arrival time against schedule.
Best time of day to fly out of SFO
Time of day matters more at SFO than almost anything else you control. Flights scheduled to leave at 5 a.m. arrived on time 95% of the time; at 3 p.m. it was 62%, a 32-point gap. Taken together, early departures (5–9 a.m.) ran 88% on time against 72% for the evening bank (5–10 p.m.). Early planes usually start the day at the airport, so they haven't had a chance to pick up delays elsewhere. By evening a late inbound aircraft, a crew running out of duty hours or an afternoon thunderstorm can push one late flight into the next. Cancellations cluster too: 12 a.m. departures were cancelled 1.8% of the time, against 1.1% overall.
Hour × month
Combine the two and the spread is wider still. The most reliable combination at SFO was a 5 a.m. departure in February (97% on time); the least, 2 p.m. in July (60%). If you can only move one thing, move the hour. Departure hour usually shifts the odds more than the month does.
Each cell: on-time rate for that departure hour in that calendar month, 2023–2026. Find your travel month, then look along the row for the greenest hour.
Best and worst months
July is the hardest month at SFO, with 70% of flights on time across 2023–2026; October is the best at 83%. Summer (June–August) runs 9 points worse than autumn: heavy schedules, peak loads and afternoon thunderstorms. Winter costs 3 points against autumn. Cancellations peak in January (2.9% of flights).
Airlines at SFO
United Airlines runs 56% of departures from SFO, so SFO is effectively its hub. When United Airlines has a bad day, so does the airport. Among airlines with at least 1,000 departures here, United Airlines was the most reliable (78% on time) and Southwest Airlines the least (54%), a 24-point difference. On a route where both fly, that difference is worth more than a small fare gap.
| Airline | Departures | On time | Left on time | Cancelled | Typical arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines | 84,288 | 78% | 77% | 0.7% | −6 min |
| Alaska Airlines | 20,255 | 70% | 72% | 1.9% | −2 min |
| Delta Air Lines | 14,741 | 74% | 74% | 1.3% | −5 min |
| American Airlines | 13,863 | 74% | 74% | 1.7% | −8 min |
| Southwest Airlines | 9,968 | 54% | 52% | 0.9% | +10 min |
| JetBlue | 4,519 | 74% | 75% | 2.2% | −7 min |
| Frontier Airlines | 3,581 | 61% | 59% | 2.2% | +1 min |
| Hawaiian Airlines | 338 | 72% | 71% | 2.4% | −3 min |
Why flights are late at SFO
Airlines report a cause for every flight that arrives 15 or more minutes late. At SFO, 46% of delay minutes came from late-arriving aircraft: the plane showed up late from its previous flight, so the delay started somewhere else. Next is the airlines themselves at 28%. That's why the first flight of the morning is the safest bet: it has no earlier flight to inherit a delay from. Of the 1,625 cancellations, 44% were blamed on weather.
The average taxi from gate to takeoff is 23 minutes, longer than at most large U.S. airports. Airlines pad schedules for it, but a long queue on a busy afternoon still eats into the buffer.
SFO vs nearby airports
SFO isn't the only option in the Bay Area. Over the past year OAK ran 78% on time with 0.7% of flights cancelled; SJC ran 81% on time with 0.7% of flights cancelled, against 74% and 1.1% at SFO. OAK and SJC have the better record, so if fares and times are close, they are the safer pick.
| Airport | Distance | Departures | On time | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO San Francisco | — | 151,553 | 74% | 1.1% |
| OAK Oakland | 11 mi | 32,418 | 78% | 0.7% |
| SJC San Jose | 30 mi | 44,965 | 81% | 0.7% |
Month by month
Over the latest 12 months 74% of SFO departures were on time, against 80% in the 12 months before, a decline of 6 points. The best recent month was March 2026 (83%); the worst, August 2026 (64%).
Worst cancellation days
The worst single day in the past year was Sunday, Jan 25, 2026, when 20% of 389 scheduled departures were cancelled. Days like that are usually a major storm, a system outage or a holiday peak hitting bad weather. No average predicts them, so on a stormy forecast, check your airline's travel waivers.
| Date | Departures | Cancelled | On time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 25, 2026 | 389 | 20% | 67% |
| Jan 3, 2026 | 404 | 12% | 40% |
| Feb 23, 2026 | 413 | 10% | 77% |
| Jan 24, 2026 | 337 | 10% | 82% |
| Feb 22, 2026 | 413 | 10% | 76% |
| Apr 20, 2026 | 439 | 9% | 45% |
| May 28, 2026 | 461 | 8% | 40% |
| Dec 21, 2025 | 424 | 7% | 42% |
| Nov 11, 2025 | 391 | 7% | 84% |
| Nov 12, 2025 | 391 | 6% | 67% |
Last flights of the day
The last flight of the day is a different bet. Across routes from SFO, each airline's final departure was cancelled 1.2% of the time, against 1.0% for its earlier flights, about the same. 1.3% of last flights landed 3+ hours late. The riskiest last flight out was United Airlines to Bakersfield (1.8% cancelled).
| Last flight to | Airline | Leaves | Cancelled | 3h+ late | On time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BFL Bakersfield | United Airlines | 10:35 p.m. | 1.8% | 6.0% | 62% |
| RDD Redding | United Airlines | 10:40 p.m. | 0.9% | 6.9% | 72% |
| ASE Aspen | United Airlines | 4:25 p.m. | 4.2% | 3.4% | 68% |
| JFK New York | American Airlines | 9:20 p.m. | 4.1% | 2.8% | 78% |
| SBP San Luis Obispo | United Airlines | 8:54 p.m. | 1.7% | 5.0% | 71% |
| SAN San Diego | Alaska Airlines | 6:42 p.m. | 6.6% | 0.0% | 52% |
| LAS Las Vegas | Frontier Airlines | 9:05 p.m. | 2.9% | 3.5% | 51% |
| DFW Dallas | American Airlines | 11:29 p.m. | 4.4% | 1.6% | 63% |
| SNA Santa Ana | Alaska Airlines | 8:51 p.m. | 5.5% | 0.0% | 77% |
| FAT Fresno | United Airlines | 8:55 p.m. | 1.7% | 3.6% | 70% |
| PDX Portland | Alaska Airlines | 10:08 p.m. | 4.1% | 1.1% | 59% |
| ACV Arcata | United Airlines | 10:35 p.m. | 2.5% | 2.2% | 71% |
Each airline's last scheduled departure of the day on a route, on days it flies the route at least twice; past 12 months. Riskiest first.
SFO at the holidays
On the busy Thanksgiving travel days, flights from SFO arrived on time 82% of the time, against 80% normally (+1.5 points; 5th of the 30 busiest airports). On the busy Christmas–New Year travel days, flights from SFO arrived on time 66% of the time, against 82% normally (−15.9 points; 26th of the 30 busiest airports).
Thanksgiving: best days to fly → · Christmas: best days to fly →
Tips for flying out of SFO
- Book the earliest departure you can live with. At SFO the 5 a.m. flights do best.
- Traveling in July? Leave extra slack for anything that can't move: cruises, weddings, the last connection of the day.
- Choosing between airlines? United Airlines has the better record here.
- Connecting here? See how long a layover you need at SFO.
- Delayed already? Most delays at SFO come from late-arriving aircraft. If your inbound plane is late, your flight will be too, whatever the board says.
Delayed at SFO right now? See how much later SFO delays usually get, and what to do →
Routes from SFO
Where you're going matters too. From SFO, the most reliable busy route was to Kona (KOA, 86% on time) and the least reliable to San Diego (SAN, 61%). Flights into congested airports inherit their delays: an air traffic program at the destination holds planes on the ground here.
Least reliable first. Routes with at least 365 flights a year.
| To | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Typical arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PAE Everett | 621 | 54% | 2.7% | +6 min |
| STL St. Louis | 754 | 60% | 0.9% | +4 min |
| SAN San Diego | 7,343 | 61% | 1.7% | +4 min |
| ASE Aspen | 376 | 63% | 2.4% | −1 min |
| BZN Bozeman | 458 | 65% | 0.7% | 0 min |
| MCI Kansas City | 365 | 68% | 0.3% | 0 min |
| BFL Bakersfield | 583 | 68% | 0.7% | 0 min |
| LAS Las Vegas | 6,145 | 70% | 0.7% | −2 min |
| RDD Redding | 891 | 70% | 1.9% | −3 min |
| ACV Arcata | 1,293 | 70% | 2.5% | −5 min |
| LAX Los Angeles | 12,104 | 70% | 1.0% | −2 min |
| GEG Spokane | 1,051 | 71% | 1.1% | −3 min |
| DFW Dallas | 4,262 | 71% | 2.3% | −4 min |
| SBP San Luis Obispo | 1,138 | 71% | 1.1% | −3 min |
| RNO Reno | 1,979 | 71% | 1.1% | −4 min |
| AUS Austin | 2,786 | 71% | 0.5% | 0 min |
| SEA Seattle | 6,824 | 71% | 1.1% | −3 min |
| BNA Nashville | 1,174 | 72% | 0.4% | 0 min |
| PHX Phoenix | 4,806 | 72% | 0.9% | −4 min |
| MRY Monterey | 780 | 72% | 0.4% | −6 min |
| MDW Chicago | 516 | 72% | 1.2% | −1 min |
| FAT Fresno | 1,285 | 72% | 1.5% | −5 min |
| PSP Palm Springs | 2,769 | 73% | 1.3% | −5 min |
| RDM Bend | 1,443 | 73% | 1.3% | −4 min |
| BOS Boston | 4,815 | 73% | 1.8% | −7 min |
| EUG Eugene | 1,004 | 74% | 0.4% | −6 min |
| ORD Chicago | 5,650 | 74% | 1.0% | −7 min |
| DEN Denver | 5,486 | 74% | 0.5% | −4 min |
| BUR Burbank | 3,214 | 74% | 1.1% | −5 min |
| SLC Salt Lake City | 3,451 | 74% | 1.0% | −6 min |
| EWR Newark | 4,348 | 75% | 1.9% | −9 min |
| SMF Sacramento | 1,359 | 75% | 1.6% | −4 min |
| BOI Boise | 1,823 | 75% | 0.3% | −7 min |
| JFK New York | 6,798 | 75% | 2.5% | −9 min |
| TUS Tucson | 944 | 75% | 0.3% | −3 min |
| ONT Ontario | 1,337 | 76% | 0.8% | −3 min |
| MIA Miami | 1,741 | 76% | 0.6% | −5 min |
| PDX Portland | 3,729 | 76% | 0.7% | −6 min |
| SAT San Antonio | 434 | 76% | 0.2% | −3 min |
| SNA Santa Ana | 4,702 | 76% | 1.5% | −6 min |
| MFR Medford | 1,017 | 77% | 1.1% | −5 min |
| SBA Santa Barbara | 1,678 | 77% | 1.1% | −6 min |
| DTW Detroit | 1,791 | 77% | 0.6% | −5 min |
| DCA Washington | 1,090 | 78% | 0.6% | −10 min |
| MSP Minneapolis | 1,927 | 78% | 0.6% | −8 min |
| FLL Fort Lauderdale | 1,242 | 79% | 0.1% | −4 min |
| HNL Honolulu | 2,477 | 79% | 1.0% | −5 min |
| ATL Atlanta | 3,337 | 79% | 0.9% | −6 min |
| ABQ Albuquerque | 711 | 80% | 0.4% | −5 min |
| BWI Baltimore | 1,034 | 80% | 0.6% | −8 min |
| PSC Pasco | 576 | 81% | 0.2% | −5 min |
| IND Indianapolis | 532 | 81% | 0.2% | −7 min |
| MSY New Orleans | 515 | 82% | 0.2% | −8 min |
| IAD Washington | 2,690 | 82% | 0.6% | −10 min |
| CLT Charlotte | 1,492 | 82% | 1.1% | −12 min |
| IAH Houston | 3,578 | 84% | 0.3% | −7 min |
| PHL Philadelphia | 2,082 | 84% | 1.3% | −11 min |
| TPA Tampa | 689 | 84% | 0.1% | −5 min |
| MCO Orlando | 1,376 | 85% | 0.3% | −11 min |
| CLE Cleveland | 572 | 85% | 0.0% | −9 min |
| OGG Kahului | 1,703 | 86% | 0.5% | −12 min |
| KOA Kona | 1,202 | 86% | 0.4% | −9 min |
| LIH Lihue | 922 | 88% | 0.5% | −12 min |
| RDU Raleigh | 885 | 89% | 0.4% | −12 min |
| PIT Pittsburgh | 553 | 90% | 0.2% | −11 min |
Flights into SFO
Arriving rather than leaving? These are the routes into San Francisco, least reliable first. The weakest is from Chicago (43% on time).
| From | Flights | On time | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|
| MDW Chicago | 516 | 43% | 1.2% |
| PAE Everett | 622 | 48% | 1.1% |
| ASE Aspen | 373 | 53% | 5.6% |
| ACV Arcata | 1,291 | 55% | 2.7% |
| SBP San Luis Obispo | 1,139 | 56% | 1.2% |
| STL St. Louis | 754 | 57% | 0.7% |
| LAS Las Vegas | 6,142 | 58% | 0.8% |
| SAN San Diego | 7,383 | 58% | 1.6% |
| MRY Monterey | 780 | 58% | 0.5% |
| RNO Reno | 1,980 | 58% | 1.4% |
| BUR Burbank | 3,217 | 59% | 1.2% |
| SEA Seattle | 6,822 | 59% | 1.1% |
| DFW Dallas | 4,264 | 59% | 2.2% |
| PSP Palm Springs | 2,789 | 60% | 1.2% |
| LAX Los Angeles | 12,104 | 60% | 0.9% |
| ONT Ontario | 1,335 | 60% | 0.8% |
| BZN Bozeman | 458 | 60% | 0.9% |
| SBA Santa Barbara | 1,677 | 61% | 1.1% |
| RDM Bend | 1,443 | 61% | 1.3% |
| SMF Sacramento | 1,360 | 61% | 1.7% |
| FAT Fresno | 1,284 | 62% | 1.3% |
| SLC Salt Lake City | 3,453 | 63% | 1.0% |
| DEN Denver | 5,488 | 63% | 0.4% |
| MFR Medford | 1,019 | 63% | 0.8% |
| PHX Phoenix | 4,807 | 63% | 0.7% |
Showing the 25 least reliable of 65 routes into SFO.
Questions about SFO delays
What is the best time to fly out of SFO?
Flights scheduled at 5 a.m.: over the past year 95% of SFO departures at that hour arrived on time, against 62% at 3 p.m., the worst hour.
What month has the most flight delays at SFO?
July (70% on time). October is the best month (83%).
Which airline is most on time at SFO?
United Airlines: 78% of its SFO departures arrived on time over the past year. Southwest Airlines had the weakest record at 54%.
Why are flights delayed at SFO?
The biggest cause was late-arriving aircraft (46% of delay minutes): the plane showed up late from its previous flight, so the delay started somewhere else. Then the airlines themselves (28%).
Is SFO or OAK or SJC more reliable?
Over the past year: SFO 74% on time, OAK 78%, SJC 81%.
How often are flights cancelled at SFO?
1.1% of scheduled departures over the past 12 months, peaking in January at 2.9%.
Hours are scheduled local departure times. "On time" means arriving less than 15 minutes late at the destination; cancelled and diverted flights count as not on time. Method.