Oakland, CA

What the Data Says About OAK

Oakland, CA in Oakland, California handled 472,036 flights in the Bureau of Transportation Statistics dataset between 2020 and 2025, posting a 81.7% on-time departure rate. Of those flights, 86,156 experienced delays, 4,908 were cancelled, and 319 were diverted. The cancellation rate works out to 1.04%, the diversion rate to 0.07%, and the average delay when departures run late is 56.3 minutes. These figures are the baseline for comparing OAK against other airports in the same state and nationally.

Breaking down what drives delays at OAK, Late Aircraft leads the pack. Late Aircraft accounts for 45.5% of total delay minutes, followed by Carrier at 38.1% and NAS (National Aviation System) at 14.5%. Weather contributes 1.5% of delay minutes at this airport, while security holds the smallest share at 0.3%. Travelers often overestimate the weather share; the BTS categorization shows late-arriving aircraft and carrier operations as the larger contributors.

Seasonally, February runs the cleanest at OAK with a 92.4% on-time rate, while December is the roughest at 88.1% — a 4-point swing between best and worst month. Volume peaks in July, when average flights hit 7,075. The busiest route from OAK is to LAS (Las Vegas), with 25,368 flights at a 79.3% on-time rate. Combine these numbers — 81.7% on-time, 56.3-minute average delay, 1.04% cancellation rate — and you have a concrete picture of departure reliability at Oakland, CA.