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.
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SMF on-time rate vs. the national average
Ahead of the U.S. average across all 382 tracked airports.
Volume vs. on-time rate
Where Sacramento, CA sits on volume vs. on-time rate
Among the 382 U.S. airports in the BTS corpus, Sacramento, CA handles more flight
volume than 91% of them, and has a higher on-time rate than
42% of them, placing it in the quadrant for busy and delay-prone.
Flight volume and on-time rate are independent figures: a busy airport can still run
reliably, and a quiet one can still run late.
Sacramento, CA vs. a 29-airport national peer sample, volume percentile vs. on-time-rate percentile.
Total flights (2020-2025): 592,833 ·
On-time rate: 82.7%
Delay Cause Breakdown
Top delay cause: Late Aircraft.
Total delay minutes2,688,675 min
Late Aircraft1,221,359 min · 45%
Carrier980,234 min · 36%
NAS (National Aviation System)413,905 min · 15%
Weather67,874 min · 3%
Security5,303 min · 0%
Source: U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, On-Time Performance
SMF - seasonal on-time pattern
Best: February (93.9%) · worst: June (89.4%)
SMF - on-time rate by year
2020–2025, year-over-year trend.
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).
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.
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.
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.
Sacramento, CA vs. the national on-time distribution
On-time rate among all 382 tracked U.S. airports
82.7%Top 58%higher than 42% of 382 airports
Sacramento, 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.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Sacramento, CA's on-time rate?
Sacramento, CA (SMF) has a 82.7% on-time rate across 592,833 BTS-tracked flights (2020-2025), 3.7 pts above the 79% national flight-weighted average; that places it in roughly the below-median on-time performance.
How does SMF rank among U.S. airports by traffic volume?
Sacramento, CA ranks #37 of 382 tracked US airports by total BTS flights (most flights = #1), making it a high-volume U.S. airport.
What's the most common cause of delays at Sacramento, CA?
Late Aircraft is the leading delay cause at SMF, accounting for 45.4% of delay minutes. The full breakdown: 45.4% late-aircraft, 36.5% carrier, 15.4% NAS/air-traffic-control, 2.5% weather, and 0.2% security.
When is the best time to fly through Sacramento, CA?
February is historically SMF's strongest month at 93.9% on-time, while June is the weakest at 89.4%, a 4.5-point swing across the BTS historical record.