San Antonio (SAT) Flight Delays: Rate, Best Hours and Airlines
San Antonio (SAT) is covered here with a statistics page (it is not one of the 22 full guide airports): 17.6% of flights departing SAT arrived 15 or more minutes late across 121,335 flights, January 2023 to December 2025. Southwest Airlines operated 39.6% of those departures, with a 16.7% delay rate of its own. The worst scheduled departure hours are 8 PM (31.8%) and 7 PM (29.8%); 5 AM is the best at 6.2%. 1.17% of scheduled SAT departures were cancelled in 2024 to 2025.
These figures are historical US domestic rates, not a forecast for one departure. Use the US domestic delay forecast before you book.
Delay window: January 2023 to December 2025. Cancellation window: 2024 to 2025. Last updated: 2026-10-18. Delayed means a flight arrived 15 or more minutes after its scheduled arrival, the BTS and DOT on-time standard. Cancelled and diverted flights are excluded from delay rates. Historical BTS figures are separate from DelayGuard's per-flight model probability and from live FAA, weather and ground-delay status.
Predict a SAT flight
Historical BTS on-time (15+ min) at SAT
Sample size: 121,335 flights, window: January 2023 to December 2025. Delay rate 17.6%. Cancellation rate 1.17% of 83,423 scheduled flights, 2024 to 2025.
Why SAT runs the way it does
No single carrier dominates SAT. The largest carriers in this window, by departures, are Southwest Airlines (39.6%), American Airlines (18.8%) and Delta Air Lines (15.4%), so the airport's record reflects several operations rather than one hub schedule.
SAT delays peak in July (24.5%), June (23.5%) and May (20.9%) and are lowest in November (13.1%). That shape is consistent with the summer thunderstorm season, when convective weather builds through the afternoon and slows arrivals and departures.
Delays build through the day: 8.2% of flights scheduled before 8 AM ran late against 29.9% after 8 PM. That is the pattern BTS describes as late-arriving aircraft, where a previous flight with the same aircraft arriving late makes the next departure late.
Best and worst times to fly from SAT
SAT delay rate by scheduled departure hour (hours with 100+ flights)| Hour | Delayed 15+ min | Flights |
|---|
| 5 AM | 6.2% | 10,124 |
| 6 AM | 7.8% | 12,979 |
| 7 AM | 10.3% | 11,364 |
| 8 AM | 12.3% | 5,932 |
| 9 AM | 12.9% | 4,813 |
| 10 AM | 12.2% | 5,571 |
| 11 AM | 14.2% | 6,093 |
| 12 PM | 18.4% | 8,724 |
| 1 PM | 18.2% | 7,187 |
| 2 PM | 20.8% | 8,844 |
| 3 PM | 21.1% | 5,992 |
| 4 PM | 27.0% | 9,062 |
| 5 PM | 28.4% | 6,817 |
| 6 PM | 28.8% | 7,668 |
| 7 PM | 29.8% | 4,866 |
| 8 PM | 31.8% | 3,175 |
| 9 PM | 26.9% | 1,400 |
| 10 PM | 27.5% | 695 |
SAT delays and cancellations by month
SAT by month| Month | Delayed 15+ min | Flights | Cancelled |
|---|
| Jan | 16.9% | 9,004 | 3.31% |
| Feb | 13.7% | 8,548 | 0.32% |
| Mar | 17.5% | 10,096 | 0.80% |
| Apr | 19.0% | 9,923 | 0.85% |
| May | 20.9% | 10,489 | 1.67% |
| Jun | 23.5% | 10,367 | 1.15% |
| Jul | 24.5% | 10,671 | 2.37% |
| Aug | 17.1% | 10,438 | 1.19% |
| Sep | 14.5% | 10,033 | 0.38% |
| Oct | 14.1% | 10,989 | 0.41% |
| Nov | 13.1% | 10,224 | 0.94% |
| Dec | 15.7% | 10,553 | 0.65% |
Airlines at SAT
Carriers flying from SAT (1,000+ flights)| Airline | Share of departures | Delayed 15+ min | Flights | Cancelled |
|---|
| Southwest Airlines | 39.6% | 16.7% | 48,030 | 0.70% |
| American Airlines | 18.8% | 20.1% | 22,804 | 2.02% |
| Delta Air Lines | 15.4% | 14.4% | 18,625 | 0.88% |
| United Airlines | 13.9% | 15.7% | 16,821 | 1.28% |
| Spirit Airlines (ceased 2 May 2026) | 4.3% | 20.7% | 5,180 | 1.72% |
| SkyWest Airlines | 2.7% | 16.1% | 3,263 | 0.97% |
| Frontier Airlines | 1.9% | 24.6% | 2,289 | 2.08% |
| Alaska Airlines | 1.4% | 27.4% | 1,729 | 0.81% |
| JetBlue Airways | 1.1% | 33.7% | 1,281 | 2.06% |
| Envoy Air | 0.9% | 26.0% | 1,146 | 2.98% |
Regional operators are reported separately from the airline brands they fly for.
Routes from SAT
Routes from SAT (500+ flights)| Route | Delayed 15+ min | Flights | Cancelled | Link |
|---|
| SAT to DFW | 24.8% | 12,341 | 3.03% | Predict |
| SAT to DEN | 17.9% | 9,162 | 0.65% | Predict |
| SAT to ATL | 15.2% | 9,136 | 0.96% | Predict |
| SAT to DAL | 16.1% | 8,290 | 1.46% | Predict |
| SAT to PHX | 16.3% | 7,686 | 0.51% | Predict |
| SAT to LAS | 19.4% | 6,661 | 0.69% | Predict |
| SAT to IAH | 18.4% | 6,656 | 1.88% | Predict |
| SAT to LAX | 14.5% | 6,224 | 0.36% | Predict |
| SAT to HOU | 18.2% | 4,844 | 0.84% | Predict |
| SAT to ORD | 15.8% | 4,548 | 1.54% | Predict |
| SAT to CLT | 16.2% | 4,162 | 0.93% | Predict |
| SAT to MCO | 21.2% | 3,503 | 1.16% | Predict |
| SAT to SLC | 14.2% | 3,031 | 0.74% | Predict |
| SAT to DTW | 11.3% | 2,743 | 0.70% | Predict |
| SAT to MSP | 13.1% | 2,591 | 0.90% | Predict |
Questions
- How often are flights delayed at SAT?
- 17.6% of flights departing SAT arrived 15 or more minutes late across 121,335 flights, January 2023 to December 2025 (BTS). Across all US domestic flights in the data, the rate is 21.2%.
- What is the best time to fly from SAT?
- Early departures run best. 5 AM flights ran 6.2% late (10,124 flights), 6 AM flights ran 7.8% late (12,979 flights) and 7 AM flights ran 10.3% late (11,364 flights). The worst hours are 8 PM (31.8%), 7 PM (29.8%) and 6 PM (28.8%).
- Which month is worst for delays at SAT?
- July has the highest delay rate at 24.5%. November is the lowest at 13.1%.
- Which airline has the best on-time record at SAT?
- Among carriers still flying with at least 5,000 flights from SAT, Delta Air Lines has the lowest delay rate at 14.4% (18,625 flights). American Airlines is highest at 20.1%. Regional operators such as SkyWest are reported separately from the airline brands they fly for.
- How often are SAT flights cancelled?
- 1.17% of 83,423 scheduled departures from SAT were cancelled in 2024 to 2025. The US figure over the same period is 1.41%. See the full ranking on the cancellation rates page.
- Does DelayGuard show live delays at SAT?
- The predictor covers SAT flights with a model probability that combines history, weather and FAA data. This page shows historical BTS figures only.