Airport · SBP · San Luis Obispo, California

San Luis Obispo, CA

San Luis Obispo, CA posts below-median on-time performance among the 382 tracked U.S. airports, as a mid-size U.S. airport. According to the U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, drawn from 56,561 flights (2020–2025); its biggest delay driver is carrier.

Compiled by PlainFlights Editorial, Flight Performance Editorial Team

Data updated 2026-06-13

83.2%
On-time: Top 52%
on-time, US airports: 88 min
Delay when late: 0.74%
Cancelled

Key Performance Metrics

Total Flights

56,561

Best Month

Apr 93.1%

Worst Month

Dec 89.8%

Delayed

9,530

Cancelled

421

60-65%

1
65-70%

4
70-75%

9
75-80%

48
80-85%

192
85-90%

116
90-95%

12

What this shows SBP is marked in the 80-85% band.

Delay Cause Breakdown

Top delay cause: Carrier. Total delay minutes: 428,084.

Late Aircraft 31.9% (136,583 min)

Carrier 46.8% (200,487 min)

NAS (National Aviation System) 13.0% (55,677 min)

Weather 7.9% (33,820 min)

Security 0.4% (1,517 min)

Seasonal Performance Patterns

Monthly averages across all years of data. Best month: April (93.1% on-time). Most delays: December (89.8% on-time).

Month	Avg Flights	Avg Delayed	Avg Cancelled	On-Time %
December	841	172	9	89.8%
November	837	134	6	92.1%
October	853	139	4	91.8%
September	768	128	1	91.7%
August	782	119	2	92.9%
July	795	140	2	92.3%
June	731	147	2	90.7%
May	725	115	2	92.7%
April	753	105	14	93.1%
March	811	138	12	92%
February	731	125	9	92.1%
January	803	127	6	92.4%

Year-Over-Year Performance

Annual flight volume and on-time trends at SBP.

Year	Flights	Delayed	Cancelled	On-Time %
2025	10,795	1,024	72	90.5%
2024	10,487	812	52	92.3%
2023	9,694	913	47	90.6%
2022	9,996	891	64	91.1%
2021	7,738	498	53	93.6%
2020	7,851	408	133	94.8%

Cancellation & Diversion Analysis

Flight disruption statistics for San Luis Obispo, CA.

Cancellation Rate

0.74%

421 of 56,561 flights

Diversion Rate

0.13%

75 of 56,561 flights

Delay Rate

16.8%

9,530 of 56,561 flights

Monthly Performance

Recent 24 months of flight data.

Period	Flights	Dep Delayed	Arr Delayed	Cancelled	Diverted
Dec 2025	920	98	100	8	1
Nov 2025	976	100	82	18	0
Oct 2025	974	102	101	6	1
Sep 2025	716	66	60	4	1
Aug 2025	839	76	70	3	4
Jul 2025	860	92	131	4	2
Jun 2025	862	103	118	2	0
May 2025	964	89	111	3	2
Apr 2025	1,014	84	80	5	1
Mar 2025	1,009	94	118	4	0
Feb 2025	812	70	99	12	1
Jan 2025	849	50	70	3	0
Dec 2024	1,008	101	99	19	1
Nov 2024	1,042	80	102	6	3
Oct 2024	1,036	82	83	1	0
Sep 2024	965	66	82	3	0
Aug 2024	945	59	95	1	1
Jul 2024	930	68	121	2	1
Jun 2024	827	68	92	0	2
May 2024	802	53	81	2	0
Apr 2024	818	63	70	5	2
Mar 2024	764	57	65	4	2
Feb 2024	648	58	70	8	0
Jan 2024	702	57	71	1	0

Top Routes from SBP

Busiest routes to and from San Luis Obispo, CA.

Route	Flights	On-Time	Distance
PHX (Phoenix) → SBP (San Luis Obispo)	6,372	85.6%	509 mi
SBP (San Luis Obispo) → PHX (Phoenix)	6,372	83.6%	509 mi
SBP (San Luis Obispo) → SFO (San Francisco)	5,760	79.2%	190 mi
SFO (San Francisco) → SBP (San Luis Obispo)	5,726	82.4%	190 mi
SBP (San Luis Obispo) → DEN (Denver)	4,285	85%	931 mi
DEN (Denver) → SBP (San Luis Obispo)	4,263	77.5%	931 mi
SBP (San Luis Obispo) → DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth)	3,014	76%	1,360 mi
DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth) → SBP (San Luis Obispo)	3,013	78.5%	1,360 mi
SBP (San Luis Obispo) → LAX (Los Angeles)	2,717	88.7%	156 mi
LAX (Los Angeles) → SBP (San Luis Obispo)	2,686	87.4%	156 mi
SBP (San Luis Obispo) → SEA (Seattle)	2,043	85%	847 mi
SEA (Seattle) → SBP (San Luis Obispo)	2,042	85.7%	847 mi
SAN (San Diego) → SBP (San Luis Obispo)	1,307	73.3%	263 mi
SBP (San Luis Obispo) → SAN (San Diego)	1,305	80.9%	263 mi

Airports With a Similar On-Time Rate

Other U.S. airports nationwide whose on-time rate is closest to San Luis Obispo, CA's 83.2%.

Long Beach, CA

83.2% on-time 174,755 flights

Fayetteville, AR

83.2% on-time 130,348 flights

Lafayette, LA

83.2% on-time 37,254 flights

Roanoke, VA

83.2% on-time 25,454 flights

St. Cloud, MN

83.2% on-time 1,690 flights

Pittsburgh, PA

83.3% on-time 462,554 flights

Other Airports in California

Compare performance with other California airports.

LAX 82.8%

Los Angeles, CA

Los Angeles · 2,137,032 flights

SFO 81%

San Francisco, CA

San Francisco · 1,466,784 flights

SAN 80.8%

San Diego, CA

San Diego · 973,807 flights

SMF 82.7%

Sacramento, CA

Sacramento · 592,833 flights

SJC 84.2%

San Jose, CA

San Jose · 546,547 flights

SNA 82.5%

Santa Ana, CA

Santa Ana · 482,186 flights

OAK 81.7%

Oakland, CA

Oakland · 472,036 flights

BUR 82.4%

Burbank, CA

Burbank · 319,148 flights

Keep exploring

More flight data around San Luis Obispo, CA.

California flight data

Statewide on-time and delay aggregates, plus every reporting airport in California.

View CA data →

Airport rankings

See where SBP sits among U.S. airports on on-time rate and average delay.

Best on-time airports →

Compare airports

Put SBP head-to-head with another airport on delays and reliability.

Open comparison tool →

What the Data Says About SBP

San Luis Obispo, CA in San Luis Obispo, California handled 56,561 flights in the Bureau of Transportation Statistics dataset between 2020 and 2025, posting a 83.2% on-time departure rate. Of those flights, 9,530 experienced delays, 421 were cancelled, and 75 were diverted. The cancellation rate works out to 0.74%, the diversion rate to 0.13%, and the average delay when departures run late is 88.2 minutes. These figures are the baseline for comparing SBP against other airports in the same state and nationally.

Breaking down what drives delays at SBP, Carrier leads the pack. Carrier accounts for 46.8% of total delay minutes, followed by Late Aircraft at 31.9% and NAS (National Aviation System) at 13.0%. Weather contributes 7.9% of delay minutes at this airport, while security holds the smallest share at 0.4%. Travelers often overestimate the weather share; the BTS categorization shows late-arriving aircraft and carrier operations as the larger contributors.

Seasonally, April runs the cleanest at SBP with a 93.1% on-time rate, while December is the roughest at 89.8% - a 3-point swing between best and worst month. Volume peaks in October, when average flights hit 853. The busiest route connecting SBP is to PHX (Phoenix), with 6,372 flights at a 85.6% on-time rate. Combine these numbers - 83.2% on-time, 88.2-minute average delay, 0.74% cancellation rate, and you have a concrete picture of departure reliability at San Luis Obispo, CA.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the on-time performance rate at San Luis Obispo, CA (SBP)? ▼

San Luis Obispo, CA has an overall on-time departure rate of 83.2%. Out of 56,561 total flights tracked, 9,530 experienced delays and 421 were cancelled.

What is the most common cause of delays at SBP? ▼

The top delay cause at San Luis Obispo, CA is Carrier. Carrier accounts for 46.8% of all delay minutes.

What is the average delay time at SBP? ▼

The average delay at San Luis Obispo, CA is 88.2 minutes. This includes delays from carrier issues, weather, National Aviation System constraints, security, and late-arriving aircraft.

What is the best month to fly from SBP? ▼

Based on historical data, April has the best on-time performance at SBP with 93.1% of flights departing on time.

What is the worst month for delays at SBP? ▼

December tends to have the most delays at SBP, with an on-time rate of only 89.8%.

How many routes operate from SBP? ▼

San Luis Obispo, CA serves at least 14 routes. The busiest route is PHX to SBP (Phoenix - San Luis Obispo) with 6,372 flights.

What is the cancellation rate at SBP? ▼

San Luis Obispo, CA has a cancellation rate of 0.74%, based on 421 cancelled flights out of 56,561 total flights tracked.

Flight Guides

Data-driven guides to help you understand airport and flight performance.

Best & Worst Airlines for On-Time Performance

Which carriers consistently outperform peers

Why Flights Get Cancelled

Cancellation causes broken down by data

How to Choose Reliable Flight Routes

Use delay data to pick flights that arrive on time

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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.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Using SBP's data

An airport-level on-time rate is a starting point, not a guarantee for your specific flight.

Check the busiest route from SBP before you book a connection. See top routes
Travel in April rather than December if your dates are flexible. Seasonal patterns
Scores vary by airline and route within the same airport; check the specific carrier you're flying. Browse airlines

On-time rate reflects the BTS historical average across all reporting carriers at this airport, not any single flight or airline.

All airports → | Rankings →

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 Editorial

Source: U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) Airline on-time performance and operational reliability · 2025 Accessed 2026-07-23

Every figure on PlainFlights is rendered directly from BTS On-Time Performance data, no number is typed in by an editor. Airport figures are computed directly from BTS On-Time Performance data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.