San Francisco (SFO) Delays

#10 U.S. airport by BTS-tracked flight volume · 78.3% on-time departures, 72.1% on-time arrivals over the last 12 months · 2015–2026

145,890Flights
78.3%Departures on-time
16.1 minAvg dep. delay
72.1%Arrivals on-time
19.7 minAvg arr. delay
1%Cancelled

Delay causes (last 12 months)

  • Air carrier30.8%
  • Extreme weather3.1%
  • National Aviation System22.6%
  • Security0.1%
  • Late-arriving aircraft43.4%

By year

San Francisco (SFO) on-time performance by year
YearFlightsDep on-timeArr on-timeAvg dep delayCancelled
202659,11576.7%69.4%17.4 min1.2%
2025144,49580.8%75.9%14.2 min0.7%
2024134,97876.5%70.2%17.4 min1.3%
2023135,70579.9%77.1%14.6 min1.1%
2022129,94982.6%82.6%12 min1.6%
202198,79186.2%84.4%10.1 min1.2%
202089,39490.8%90.3%6.8 min5.5%
2019170,91877.7%74%16.6 min2.1%
2018175,78779.3%74.8%14.2 min1.4%
2017174,63176.2%71.1%16.7 min1.9%
2016172,35878.4%74.8%14.7 min1.4%
2015162,17879.5%78%13.3 min1.4%

On-time = arrival within 15 minutes of schedule, per U.S. DOT definitions. Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics (public domain). Delay-cause attribution is reported by carriers since June 2003.