Historical on-time performance
Sacramento to Atlanta
2,092 miData through May 2026Source: US DOT · BTS
Flights on SMF–ATL arrive on time 90% of the time over the last 12 months.
On-time rate90%arrived within 15 min
p90 delay10 min1 in 10 flights is worse (tail risk)
Cancelled1.6%of scheduled flights
based on 1,009 flights over the last 12 months. On-time means arriving within 15 minutes (BTS standard).
By airline
How each carrier compares
- Delta Air LinesOn-time90%Medianon timep9010 minCancel1.6%Flights1,009
Why flights run late
Delay causes
- Airline65%
- Weather1%
- Air traffic (NAS)10%
- Late aircraft24%
- Security0%
Most delay minutes here are attributed to Airline.
When flights don't go
Why flights were cancelled
- Airline69%
- Weather31%
- Air traffic (NAS)0%
- Security0%
Most cancellations here are attributed to Airline. Shares are among 16 cancellations with a reported cause (BTS reports causes from June 2003).
Over time
On-time trend
By season
On-time rate by month
When to fly
Best time to fly SMF → ATL
All airlines · rolling 36 months (2023-06 .. 2026-05).
Best time of day
On-time rates are fairly even by time of day on this route — ranging from 85% to 92% on time.
- Overnights92% on time · p90 10 min · 755 flights
- Mornings90% on time · p90 10 min · 1,096 flights
- Middays85% on time · p90 20 min · 1,093 flights
Best day of week
On-time rates are fairly even by day on this route — ranging from 85% to 92% on time.
- Wednesdays92% on time · p90 10 min · 419 flights
- Thursdays90% on time · p90 10 min · 449 flights
- Tuesdays89% on time · p90 15 min · 407 flights
- Mondays89% on time · p90 10 min · 446 flights
- Fridays88% on time · p90 15 min · 453 flights
- Sundays86% on time · p90 20 min · 444 flights
- Saturdays85% on time · p90 15 min · 328 flights
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