OnTimeStats

Airport on-time performance

Santa Ana

Data through May 2026Source: US DOT · BTS
On-time rate81%flights departing here that arrived on time
p90 delay35 min1 in 10 departures is worse (tail risk)
Cancelled1.1%of scheduled departures
Left the gate on time81%departures that pushed back within 15 min of schedule (DepDel15)

based on 45,364 flights over the last 12 months. On-time means arriving within 15 minutes (BTS standard).

As a connection hub

Arriving here (inbound performance)

These figures reflect inbound flights arriving at this airport — relevant for connections and layovers.

81%arrived on time here
(within 15 min, inbound flights)
  • On time81%
  • 15–59 min late13%
  • 1–2 hr late3%
  • 2 hr+ late1%
  • Cancelled or diverted1%

Arrival outcomes for inbound flights. Last segment = cancelled or diverted.

Bad day: 1 in 10 flights arrives more than 30 min late.

By airline

Carriers departing here (last 12 months)

Delay = arrival delay (ArrDel15-based)

  • Spirit Airlines
    On-time88%
    Medianon time
    p9015 min
    Cancel1.4%
    Flights928
  • Alaska Airlines
    On-time88%
    Medianon time
    p9015 min
    Cancel1.4%
    Flights4,321
  • Southwest Airlines
    On-time83%
    Medianon time
    p9025 min
    Cancel0.7%
    Flights14,415
  • Frontier Airlines
    On-time82%
    Medianon time
    p9030 min
    Cancel1.1%
    Flights190
  • Delta Air Lines
    On-time82%
    Medianon time
    p9035 min
    Cancel1.0%
    Flights4,336
  • United Airlines
    On-time80%
    Medianon time
    p9035 min
    Cancel0.7%
    Flights6,105
  • American Airlines
    On-time77%
    Medianon time
    p9045 min
    Cancel2.0%
    Flights6,585
  • SkyWest Airlines
    On-time76%
    Medianon time
    p9050 min
    Cancel1.3%
    Flights5,411
  • Allegiant Air
    On-time67%
    Medianon time
    p9080 min
    Cancel0.4%
    Flights280

Over time

On-time trend

By season

On-time rate by month

When it gets busy

Busiest times at SNA

Historically, departures at SNA peak 10 a.m.–2 p.m. — 30% of scheduled flights leave in that block.

  • 5–10 a.m.29%
  • 10 a.m.–2 p.m.30%
  • 2–5 p.m.17%
  • 5–8 p.m.17%
  • 8 p.m.–midnight6%

Share of 133,384 scheduled departures by planned departure time, 2023-06 .. 2026-05. Historical averages from BTS data — not live airport status.

When flights don't go

Why flights were cancelled

  • Airline41%
  • Weather43%
  • Air traffic (NAS)15%
  • Security0%

Most cancellations here are attributed to Weather. Shares are among 497 cancellations with a reported cause (BTS reports causes from June 2003).

Where flights go

Busiest routes

SNA → PHX→SNA → SFO→SNA → SJC→SNA → LAS→SNA → DEN→SNA → DFW→SNA → OAK→SNA → SEA→SNA → ORD→SNA → SMF→

Side by side

Compare this airport

Compare with Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airporthead-to-head on-time→Compare with Chicago O'Hare International Airporthead-to-head on-time→Compare with Dallas Fort Worth International Airporthead-to-head on-time→Compare with Denver International Airporthead-to-head on-time→

Will you make a connection at SNA? →

Keep exploring

Related guides

When to arrive at the airportguide→Worst airports for delaysguide→

Methodology

A flight is on time when it arrives within 15 minutes of schedule — the US DOT / BTS standard. Median and p90(the “1-in-10 bad day”) are read from the full arrival-delay distribution, never averaged across periods.

Figures cover a carrier’s own BTS-coded flights. Cells below ~200 flights are flagged as limited data. All numbers are pre-computed from public BTS On-Time Performance data.