According to PlainFlights' airport traffic ranking (BTS On-Time Performance total flights), Santa Barbara, CA (SBA) ranks #114 of 382 tracked US airports by total flights (most flights = #1). Santa Barbara, CA posts below-median on-time performance among the 382 tracked U.S. airports, as a mid-size U.S. airport.
Compare SBA to another hub, filter routes, or browse airline stats without leaving this profile.
SBA on-time rate vs. the national average
Ahead of the U.S. average across all 382 tracked airports.
Delay Cause Breakdown
Top delay cause: Late Aircraft.
Total delay minutes: 529,363.
Late Aircraft41.2% (218,148 min)
Carrier32.9% (174,333 min)
NAS (National Aviation System)20.1% (106,492 min)
Weather5.6% (29,500 min)
Security0.2% (890 min)
SBA - seasonal on-time pattern
Best: March (93.3%) · worst: December (90.3%)
SBA - on-time rate by year
2020–2025, year-over-year trend.
SBA - taxi-out and taxi-in (monthly)
Average taxi-out 15.5 min · taxi-in 4.9 min over the last 24 reported months (U.S. airport mean taxi-out ≈ 16.4 min).
SBA's average taxi-out (15.5 min) sits near the recent U.S. airport mean (~16.4 min). Month-to-month, it swings from 14.2 min (January 2025) to 17.4 min (November 2025).
Cancellation & Diversion Analysis
Flight disruption statistics for Santa Barbara, CA.
Two PlainFlights-derived comparison paths for Santa Barbara, CA, both outside California so the neighborhoods are not same-state geography. Axes stay disjoint: volume peers exclude the on-time peer set. Same-state compare stays below.
The standout signal at Santa Barbara, CA is the delay mix: Late Aircraft owns 41.2% of 529,363 delay minutes across 83,263 BTS flights. The on-time headline is 83.3% (4.3 pts above the 79% national average), with 13,934 delayed and 843 cancelled (1.01%).
Delay minutes concentrate in Late Aircraft (41.2% late-aircraft, 32.9% carrier, 20.1% NAS, 5.6% weather, 0.2% security). As a busy airport, that mix matters more for connection planning than for a thin schedule.
On the multi-year calendar, SBA is strongest in March (93.3% on-time) and weakest in December (90.3%), a 3.0-point swing. Volume peaks in July (~1,275 flights/month). The busiest connecting route is to SFO (San Francisco) at 86% on-time. Field definitions: on-time performance explained.
Santa Barbara, CA vs. the national on-time distribution
On-time rate among all 382 tracked U.S. airports
83.3%Top 51%higher than 49% of 382 airports
Santa Barbara, CA
60%95%
U.S. airports by on-time rate, bucketed by value
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more airports. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Data Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), On-Time Performance Data (2020–2025).
Statistics reflect cumulative performance across all available reporting periods. On-time rates exclude cancelled and diverted flights.
SBA's on-time book is mid-pack; month and delay-cause mix move more than the headline rate.
Check the busiest route from SBA before you book a connection. See top routes →
Travel in March rather than December if your dates are flexible. Seasonal patterns →
Gate-to-wheels taxi-out averages 15.5 min here; check the monthly series before a tight connection. Taxi times →
On-time rate reflects the BTS historical average across all reporting carriers at this airport, not any single flight or airline.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Santa Barbara, CA's on-time rate?
Santa Barbara, CA (SBA) has a 83.3% on-time rate across 83,263 BTS-tracked flights (2020-2025), 4.3 pts above the 79% national flight-weighted average; that places it in roughly the below-median on-time performance.
How does SBA rank among U.S. airports by traffic volume?
Santa Barbara, CA ranks #114 of 382 tracked US airports by total BTS flights (most flights = #1), making it a mid-size U.S. airport.
What's the most common cause of delays at Santa Barbara, CA?
Late Aircraft is the leading delay cause at SBA, accounting for 41.2% of delay minutes. The full breakdown: 41.2% late-aircraft, 32.9% carrier, 20.1% NAS/air-traffic-control, 5.6% weather, and 0.2% security.
When is the best time to fly through Santa Barbara, CA?
March is historically SBA's strongest month at 93.3% on-time, while December is the weakest at 90.3%, a 3.0-point swing across the BTS historical record.
Data sourced from U.S. Department of Transportation Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) On-Time Performance data. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainFlights