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.

Share of departures that left on time, by hour band and day of week.
Departure time MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
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
fewer left on time more left on time

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.

Share of departures that left on time, by calendar month. Best month in green, worst in amber. The hairline sits at the overall rate, 78%.
Departure on-time share at SAN by calendar month
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

Spirit Airlines (through May 2026) and Hawaiian Airlines (through December 2025) stopped filing before June 2026. Their rows cover a shorter run of months than the rest of the table, so their figures are not set against the others anywhere on this page.

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 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.

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.

July 2023–June 2026 · 285,044 departures flown

78% of departures left on time

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. Airlines that stopped filing before June 2026 are left out of the ranking — their figures cover a shorter run of months than the rest of the table.
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.