SFO to ATL flight delays
SFO ATL San Francisco to Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta · 2,139 miles
9,752 flights were scheduled from SFO to ATL over July 2023 through June 2026. Of the 9,638 that made the trip, 81.7% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. These are arrival figures: “on time” means the flight reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Arrivals are what decide whether you make the connection, so route and airline pages are scored on them rather than on pushback.
Data through June 2026 · Bureau of Transportation Statistics
The route in brief
- Flights in the window
- 9,752
- Arrived on time
- 81.7%
- Cancelled
- 0.9%
- Scheduled distance
- 2,139 miles
Cancellations are counted against everything scheduled. Diverted flights are counted with them rather than as very late arrivals, which is why the on-time share and the cancellation rate do not add up to everything that happened.
Airline by airline
Airlines with at least 100 flights on SFO–ATL, busiest first. Same route, same weather, same air traffic — which makes this the fairest comparison on the site.
| Airline | Arrived on time | Typical delay | Cancelled | Flights |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines | 84.3% | 67 min | 0.7% | 7,085 |
| United Airlines | 82.4% | 55 min | 0.6% | 1,758 |
| Frontier Airlines | 60% | 79 min | 3.2% | 909 |
Month by month
July was the month to avoid on SFO–ATL: 74.3% of flights arrived on time, against 89.2% in February. Each bar pools three years of that calendar month.
| Month | Share flights that arrived on time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| January | 86.3% | 619 |
| February | 89.2% | 578 |
| March | 81.8% | 800 |
| April | 78.9% | 822 |
| May | 77% | 841 |
| June | 76.3% | 890 |
| July | 74.3% | 942 |
| August | 80.4% | 891 |
| September | 88.1% | 855 |
| October | 87.4% | 909 |
| November | 83.3% | 817 |
| December | 81.7% | 788 |
Both ends of the route
A route’s record is built out of two airports’ habits. The hour-by-hour grid for each is on its own page.
SFO to ATL in one number
SFO → ATL
When a flight on this route was late, it was late by about 67 min.
Questions about SFO to ATL
- Which airline is most reliable from SFO to ATL?
- Delta Air Lines — its flights on this pairing arrived on time 84.3% of the time, with 7,085 scheduled. Frontier Airlines came in at 60% over 909 scheduled. Airlines with fewer than 100 flights on the route are not rated.
- What is the worst month to fly SFO to ATL?
- July, at 74.3% of arrivals on time, with 942 flights scheduled. February was the best of the year at 89.2%.
- How late are SFO–ATL flights when they are late?
- 67 min on average, counting only the flights that arrived 15 minutes or more behind schedule. The on-time flights are left out of that average on purpose — mixing them in would flatter it.
- How often is the SFO to ATL flight cancelled?
- 0.9% of scheduled flights on this route were cancelled, July 2023 through June 2026. Diverted flights are counted with the cancellations rather than as late arrivals.
- Are these departure or arrival numbers?
- Arrival. A flight counts as on time here if it reached the gate at ATL less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Airport pages score departures instead, because that is the number you can act on when you pick a booking time.