San Francisco to Atlanta Flight Delays
Sample size: 9,596 SFO–ATL flights, January 2023 to December 2025 (BTS). 18.77% of San Francisco to Atlanta flights arrived at least 15 minutes late. That is 5.4 points better than the 24.2% median for those routes, making this one of the steadier pairings in the network. Departure time moves the odds more than anything else on this route: 06:00 departures run 6.46% late against 31.03% for 10:00. Saturday is the calmest day at 15.03%, Sunday the worst at 22.52%. Cancellations (2024 to 2025) peak in July at 4.15% of scheduled flights and bottom out in February at 0%. Last updated: 2026-10-01.
These figures are historical US domestic rates, not a forecast for one departure. Use the US domestic delay forecast before you book.
SFO airport delay guide · ATL airport delay guide · Predict a SFO to ATL flight
Best time to fly SFO to ATL
The best time to fly SFO to ATL is the 6 AM departure and fly on a Saturday, not a Sunday (15.03% against 22.52%): 6.46% of 6 AM flights arrived 15+ minutes late, against 31.03% at 10 AM.
Lowest observed delay rates depart 06:00–08:00. The highest sit at 10:00, 14:00, 23:00. Only departure hours with at least 100 recorded flights are listed, so sparse hours are blank rather than estimated.
| Departure hour | Delayed 15+ min | Flights observed |
|---|---|---|
| 06:00 | 6.46% | 1,083 |
| 07:00 | 9.59% | 584 |
| 08:00 | 9.4% | 862 |
| 09:00 | 14.71% | 204 |
| 10:00 | 31.03% | 609 |
| 11:00 | 17.75% | 693 |
| 12:00 | 18.54% | 426 |
| 13:00 | 23.47% | 571 |
| 14:00 | 25.52% | 478 |
| 15:00 | 14.95% | 368 |
| 21:00 | 16.21% | 802 |
| 22:00 | 23.52% | 1,552 |
| 23:00 | 27.36% | 1,210 |
SFO to ATL flight time and distance
Scheduled gate-to-gate time from SFO to ATL is a median 4 h 41 min. Flights actually took a median 4 h 30 min gate to gate, including 4 h 3 min in the air. 1.4% ran 30 or more minutes over schedule and 77.6% arrived sooner than scheduled (BTS data, January 2023 to December 2025).
SFO to ATL is 2,139 miles (BTS data).
| Airline | Scheduled (median) | Actual (median) | In the air (median) | 30+ min over schedule | Flights |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines | 4 h 38 min | 4 h 27 min | 4 h 2 min | 0.8% | 6,996 |
| United Airlines | 4 h 47 min | 4 h 39 min | 4 h 5 min | 1.8% | 1,738 |
| Frontier Airlines | 4 h 48 min | 4 h 41 min | 4 h 5 min | 5.5% | 862 |
How late, and why
When a SFO to ATL flight was late (15+ minutes), it arrived an average of 68 minutes late (median 37). 5.8% of all completed flights arrived an hour or more late (BTS data, 2023 to 2025).
Of the delay minutes on late SFO to ATL flights, 44.3% were caused by a late incoming aircraft, 40.7% by the airline (crew, maintenance, ground handling), 13.0% by the air-traffic system (volume, non-extreme weather, airport operations), 2.0% by extreme weather and 0.0% by security (BTS data, 2023 to 2025).
| Cause | Share of delay minutes |
|---|---|
| late incoming aircraft | 44.3% |
| airline | 40.7% |
| air-traffic system | 13.0% |
| extreme weather | 2.0% |
| security | 0.0% |
BTS assigns causes to delay minutes on flights that arrived 15+ minutes late. "Air-traffic system" includes non-extreme weather that slows traffic.
SFO to ATL delays by day of week
| Day | Delayed 15+ min | Flights observed |
|---|---|---|
| Mon | 18.78% | 1,464 |
| Tue | 16.85% | 1,294 |
| Wed | 16.92% | 1,294 |
| Thu | 19.88% | 1,444 |
| Fri | 20.37% | 1,453 |
| Sat | 15.03% | 1,204 |
| Sun | 22.52% | 1,443 |
Month-by-month cancellation pattern
Share of scheduled SFO–ATL flights cancelled in each month, from BTS 2024–2025 on-time reporting. These are cancellations, not delays. Delay figures on this page cover January 2023 to December 2025.
| Month | Cancelled | Flights scheduled |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2.24% | 402 |
| Feb | 0% | 359 |
| Mar | 0.19% | 519 |
| Apr | 0.56% | 538 |
| May | 0% | 556 |
| Jun | 0.85% | 586 |
| Jul | 4.15% | 627 |
| Aug | 0.34% | 583 |
| Sep | 0.18% | 563 |
| Oct | 0.17% | 606 |
| Nov | 0.55% | 550 |
| Dec | 1.11% | 539 |
Airlines on SFO to ATL: delays and cancellations
Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and Frontier Airlines fly this route today. Only carriers with at least 200 scheduled flights on the pairing are listed. Delay rates cover January 2023 to December 2025; cancellation rates cover 2024 to 2025.
| Airline | Share of flights | Delayed 15+ min | Cancelled | Flights scheduled |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines | 74% | 15.21% | 0.76% | 4,728 |
| United Airlines | 18% | 21.35% | 0.71% | 1,132 |
| Frontier Airlines | 9% | 42.46% | 2.29% | 568 |
Related pages
- SFO delays: rate, worst hours and live risk
- ATL delays: rate, worst hours and live risk
- US airline cancellation rates
- Thanksgiving and Christmas 2026 flight delay guide
- Predict a SFO to ATL flight
Check your odds: Will my flight be delayed? · Will my flight be cancelled?
SFO vs ATL: airport conditions
Both ends of a route shape its delay profile. These are DelayGuard's operational scores for San Francisco and Atlanta.
| Measure | SFO (San Francisco) | ATL (Atlanta) |
|---|---|---|
| Congestion | high | high |
| Weather risk | moderate | moderate |
| NAS vulnerability | high | high |
| Average taxi-out | 15 min | 18 min |
| Runways | 4 | 5 |
SFO to ATL questions
- How long is the flight from San Francisco to Atlanta?
- Scheduled gate-to-gate time from SFO to ATL is a median 4 h 41 min, and flights actually took a median 4 h 30 min including 4 h 3 min in the air. 1.4% ran 30+ minutes over schedule (BTS data, January 2023 to December 2025).
- How often do SFO to ATL flights get delayed?
- Across 9,596 recorded SFO–ATL departures, January 2023 to December 2025 (BTS), 18.77% arrived at least 15 minutes late. Departure time matters most: 6:00 departures run 6.46% late against 31.03% for 10:00. Actual delay frequency varies by airline, time of day, and season.
- What is the best time of year to fly SFO to ATL?
- San Francisco (CA) sees its highest delays during November–February (coastal fog) with generally low risk year-round. Atlanta (GA) peaks during June–September (convective/thunderstorm season). The dominant seasonal risk on this route sits at the destination (Atlanta) — use the DelayGuard predictor to check conditions for your specific travel date.
- Which airline is most reliable on SFO to ATL?
- On SFO→ATL, Delta Air Lines has the lowest measured delay rate at 15.21% of 6,996 flights, and Frontier Airlines the highest at 42.46% (BTS, January 2023 to December 2025). United Airlines cancels the fewest at 0.71% (2024 to 2025). These are route-specific figures, not airline-wide averages.
- How late are SFO to ATL flights when they are delayed?
- When a SFO to ATL flight was late (15+ minutes), it arrived an average of 68 minutes late (median 37). 5.8% of all completed flights arrived an hour or more late (BTS data, 2023 to 2025).
- How accurate is DelayGuard's delay prediction for this route?
- DelayGuard's delay risk score comes from an ML model trained on BTS data (3.95 million US domestic flights, 2023 to mid-2025), with live weather data (within 5 days of departure) and FAA NAS advisories (within 6 hours) — a likelihood of delay, not a guarantee.
Delay figures reflect arrivals 15 or more minutes late in BTS on-time reporting. Cancellation figures are separate and count flights that never operated. Hours, days and months with fewer than 100 recorded flights are omitted rather than estimated.