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Airport · SMF · Sacramento, California

Sacramento, CA

According to PlainFlights' airport traffic ranking (BTS On-Time Performance total flights), Sacramento, CA (SMF) ranks #37 of 382 tracked US airports by total flights (most flights = #1). Sacramento, CA posts below-median on-time performance among the 382 tracked U.S. airports, as a high-volume U.S. airport.

Data updated 2026-06-13

82.7%
On-time
Top 58%
on-time, US airports
62 min
Delay when late
0.85%
Cancelled
#37 of 382
Corpus placement
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SMF on-time rate vs. the national average

Ahead of the U.S. average across all 382 tracked airports.

0%100%U.S. average79%82.7%

Delay Cause Breakdown

Top delay cause: Late Aircraft. Total delay minutes: 2,688,675.

Late Aircraft 45.4% (1,221,359 min)
Carrier 36.5% (980,234 min)
NAS (National Aviation System) 15.4% (413,905 min)
Weather 2.5% (67,874 min)
Security 0.2% (5,303 min)

SMF - seasonal on-time pattern

Best: February (93.9%) · worst: June (89.4%)

89%90%91%92%93%94%95% JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec 89.6%

SMF - on-time rate by year

2020–2025, year-over-year trend.

90%92%94%96%98% 202020212022202320242025 97% 91% ▼ -6.2%

SMF - taxi-out and taxi-in (monthly)

Average taxi-out 13.7 min · taxi-in 5.2 min over the last 24 reported months (U.S. airport mean taxi-out ≈ 16.4 min).

12 min13 min14 min15 min Jan 24Dec 25 13.4 min 14.5 min ▲ +8.2%

SMF's average taxi-out (13.7 min) stays shorter than the recent U.S. airport mean (~16.4 min). Even the heaviest month (November 2025, 14.8 min) is milder than many hubs' typical book.

Cancellation & Diversion Analysis

Flight disruption statistics for Sacramento, CA.

Cancellation Rate

0.85%

5,050 of 592,833 flights

Diversion Rate

0.09%

560 of 592,833 flights

Delay Rate

17.3%

102,838 of 592,833 flights

Top Routes from SMF

Busiest routes to and from Sacramento, CA.

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Route Flights On-Time Distance
SAN (San Diego) → SMF (Sacramento) 30,295 81.6% 480 mi
SMF (Sacramento) → SAN (San Diego) 30,193 81.7% 480 mi
SMF (Sacramento) → LAX (Los Angeles) 27,971 87.8% 373 mi
LAX (Los Angeles) → SMF (Sacramento) 27,970 87.2% 373 mi
SMF (Sacramento) → LAS (Las Vegas) 26,989 80.6% 397 mi
LAS (Las Vegas) → SMF (Sacramento) 26,850 78.9% 397 mi
SEA (Seattle) → SMF (Sacramento) 24,311 82.3% 605 mi
SMF (Sacramento) → SEA (Seattle) 24,243 85.2% 605 mi
DEN (Denver) → SMF (Sacramento) 21,253 77% 909 mi
SMF (Sacramento) → DEN (Denver) 21,137 84.5% 909 mi
SMF (Sacramento) → PHX (Phoenix) 19,487 85.4% 647 mi
PHX (Phoenix) → SMF (Sacramento) 19,441 82.2% 647 mi
BUR (Burbank) → SMF (Sacramento) 15,739 86.7% 358 mi
SMF (Sacramento) → BUR (Burbank) 15,729 85.1% 358 mi
SMF (Sacramento) → SNA (Santa Ana) 13,446 85.2% 404 mi
SNA (Santa Ana) → SMF (Sacramento) 13,434 83.2% 404 mi
SMF (Sacramento) → SLC (Salt Lake City) 11,456 88.5% 532 mi
SLC (Salt Lake City) → SMF (Sacramento) 11,455 85.8% 532 mi
SMF (Sacramento) → ONT (Ontario) 10,958 86.3% 390 mi
ONT (Ontario) → SMF (Sacramento) 10,949 87.7% 390 mi

Nationwide peers by on-time rate & flight volume

Two PlainFlights-derived comparison paths for Sacramento, 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.

Similar on-time rate

Nearest out-of-state BTS on-time rate (this airport: 82.7%).

Indianapolis, IN

Indianapolis, IN

82.7% on-time 495,575 flights

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, PA

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, PA

82.7% on-time 21,551 flights

Sitka, AK

Sitka, AK

82.7% on-time 14,900 flights

Columbus, OH

Columbus, OH

82.8% on-time 450,603 flights

Similar flight volume

Nearest out-of-state total flights (this airport: 592,833).

Raleigh/Durham, NC

Raleigh/Durham, NC

616,332 flights 81.6% on-time

Washington, DC

Washington, VA

618,145 flights 84.1% on-time

Houston, TX

Houston, TX

618,821 flights 79.4% on-time

Honolulu, HI

Honolulu, HI

631,778 flights 84.6% on-time

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
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
ONT 82.3%

Ontario, CA

Ontario · 272,856 flights

SMF delay-share reading

The standout signal at Sacramento, CA is the delay mix: Late Aircraft owns 45.4% of 2,688,675 delay minutes across 592,833 BTS flights. The on-time headline is 82.7% (3.7 pts above the 79% national average), with 102,838 delayed and 5,050 cancelled (0.85%).

Delay minutes concentrate in Late Aircraft (45.4% late-aircraft, 36.5% carrier, 15.4% NAS, 2.5% 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, SMF is strongest in February (93.9% on-time) and weakest in June (89.4%), a 4.5-point swing. Volume peaks in July (~8,970 flights/month). The busiest connecting route is to SAN (San Diego) at 81.6% on-time. Field definitions: on-time performance explained.

Statewide aggregates for California: California flight data.

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 SMF's data

SMF's on-time book is mid-pack; month and delay-cause mix move more than the headline rate.

  • Check the busiest route from SMF before you book a connection. See top routes
  • Travel in February rather than June if your dates are flexible. Seasonal patterns
  • Gate-to-wheels taxi-out averages 13.7 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.

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

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

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.