Best time to fly out of San Diego (SAN)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at San Diego: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 92.8% of the time, against 68.2% in the 6–8pm band. These are historical odds, not forecasts. The records say what happened on this schedule over three years; they know nothing about tomorrow’s thunderstorm.
Data through June 2026 · Bureau of Transportation Statistics
On-time rate by hour and day
On this page, “on time” means a departure that pushed back less than 15 minutes behind its scheduled time — the Bureau of Transportation Statistics definition, and the one airlines are held to.
| Departure time | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before 6am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 6–8am | 93 | 93 | 95 | 93 | 92 | 92 | 92 |
| 8–10am | 83 | 87 | 87 | 84 | 81 | 84 | 83 |
| 10am–12pm | 79 | 83 | 83 | 80 | 76 | 80 | 78 |
| 12–2pm | 71 | 79 | 78 | 70 | 68 | 76 | 70 |
| 2–4pm | 71 | 80 | 78 | 68 | 66 | 77 | 68 |
| 4–6pm | 68 | 80 | 77 | 66 | 64 | 76 | 64 |
| 6–8pm | 68 | 78 | 75 | 63 | 62 | 73 | 61 |
| 8–10pm | 69 | 81 | 77 | 65 | 65 | 76 | 62 |
| 10pm–12am | 86 | 90 | 90 | 81 | 83 | 88 | 82 |
The steadiest stretch at SAN was 6–8am — 92.8% of departures left on time across 44,814 flights. The weakest was 6–8pm at 68.2%. 6–8am departures from SAN left on time 92.8% of the time across 44,814 flights; 6–8pm departures, 68.2% across 27,231. That is a gap of 24.6 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at SAN
June was the hard month at SAN: 71.1% of departures left on time, across 25,845 flights. January was the easy one at 81.9%. Each month pools three years of that month, so a single bad week does not decide it.
| Month | Share departures that left on time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| January | 81.9% | 21,670 |
| February | 80.8% | 20,196 |
| March | 79.4% | 24,063 |
| April | 78.8% | 24,049 |
| May | 76.9% | 25,338 |
| June | 71.1% | 25,845 |
| July | 73.6% | 25,625 |
| August | 78.7% | 25,041 |
| September | 81.6% | 23,429 |
| October | 77.4% | 25,090 |
| November | 80.7% | 23,827 |
| December | 76.5% | 24,151 |
Airlines at SAN
Every airline with at least 100 departures from SAN, busiest first. These are that airline’s departures from this airport only — its record across the country sits on its own page.
| Airline | Left on time | Typical delay | Cancelled | Departures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines | 72.1% | 50 min | 0.9% | 107,197 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 79.8% | 60 min | 1.2% | 39,966 |
| Alaska Airlines | 80.4% | 59 min | 1.6% | 32,629 |
| United Airlines | 85.5% | 77 min | 1.2% | 31,260 |
| Delta Air Lines | 86.3% | 80 min | 0.7% | 28,520 |
| American Airlines | 81% | 103 min | 1.4% | 27,726 |
| Frontier Airlines | 71% | 90 min | 2.2% | 8,264 |
| Spirit Airlines | 79.4% | 68 min | 1.5% | 5,162 |
| JetBlue Airways | 73.9% | 89 min | 1.2% | 5,157 |
| Hawaiian Airlines | 74.6% | 74 min | 0.8% | 1,937 |
| Allegiant Air | 63.7% | 69 min | 1% | 506 |
What delays out of SAN were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 61,758 flights that departed SAN and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 47.1% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 26.1% to airline operations.
- Late-arriving aircraft 47.1%
- Airline operations 26.1%
- Air traffic & airport volume 22.2%
- Severe weather 4.5%
- Security 0.2%
Late-arriving aircraft is the knock-on category: the plane came in late, so it went out late again. It is why a 7am problem in Newark is still a problem in Denver at dinnertime, and why it is usually the biggest slice on the bar.
If you are connecting through SAN
Of 288,319 scheduled arrivals into SAN, 75.2% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 67,566 arrivals that ran late, 60.5% were no more than 45 minutes behind — which is the difference between a tight connection and a new boarding pass.
Work out a specific layover — pick the airport and the minutes you have, and the tool reads the same arrival records back as a share.
Busiest routes out of SAN
Ranked by flights, with the share that arrived on time at the far end. Where a route carries enough flights for a page of its own the chip goes there; otherwise it goes to the destination airport.
- LAS 75.4% on time · 19,731 flights
- SFO 67.6% on time · 19,381 flights
- PHX 78% on time · 17,157 flights
- DEN 79.1% on time · 16,971 flights
- SJC 78.5% on time · 16,223 flights
- SMF 77.4% on time · 15,886 flights
- SEA 81.7% on time · 13,862 flights
- DFW 76.5% on time · 10,616 flights
- OAK 76.8% on time · 10,343 flights
- ORD 82.1% on time · 9,463 flights
SAN in one number
San Diego (SAN)
Rank 25 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: June.
Questions about SAN
- What is the best time of day to fly out of San Diego?
- 6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 92.8% of the time across 44,814 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 6–8pm band was the weakest at 68.2%.
- Is the early flight out of SAN really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from SAN left on time 92.8% of the time across 44,814 flights; 6–8pm departures, 68.2% across 27,231. That is a gap of 24.6 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of SAN?
- June: 71.1% of the departures that flew left on time, with 25,845 scheduled. January was the other end of the year at 81.9%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at SAN?
- Delta Air Lines — 86.3% of its 28,520 departures from SAN left on time. Allegiant Air sat at the other end at 63.7% over 506 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at SAN?
- 1.1% of scheduled departures were cancelled over July 2023 through June 2026. Cancellations are counted against everything scheduled, not against everything that flew — a rate that looks small still adds up to real people in a rebooking line.