Santa Barbara, CA

What the Data Says About SBA

Santa Barbara, CA in Santa Barbara, California handled 83,263 flights in the Bureau of Transportation Statistics dataset between 2020 and 2025, posting a 83.3% on-time departure rate. Of those flights, 13,934 experienced delays, 843 were cancelled, and 99 were diverted. The cancellation rate works out to 1.01%, the diversion rate to 0.12%, and the average delay when departures run late is 78.6 minutes. These figures are the baseline for comparing SBA against other airports in the same state and nationally.

Breaking down what drives delays at SBA, Late Aircraft leads the pack. Late Aircraft accounts for 41.2% of total delay minutes, followed by Carrier at 32.9% and NAS (National Aviation System) at 20.1%. Weather contributes 5.6% of delay minutes at this airport, while security holds the smallest share at 0.2%. Travelers often overestimate the weather share; the BTS categorization shows late-arriving aircraft and carrier operations as the larger contributors.

Seasonally, March runs the cleanest at SBA with a 93.3% on-time rate, while December is the roughest at 90.3% — a 3-point swing between best and worst month. Volume peaks in July, when average flights hit 1,275. The busiest route from SBA is to SBA (Santa Barbara), with 7,387 flights at a 86% on-time rate. Combine these numbers — 83.3% on-time, 78.6-minute average delay, 1.01% cancellation rate — and you have a concrete picture of departure reliability at Santa Barbara, CA.