Airport month record
SFODEC
San Francisco International in December 2025
- Departures
- 11,975
- Month
- December 2025
- National, same month
- 73.2%
- Carriers
- 9
Historical statistics for December 2025, not live status or a forecast for this year’s December. For today’s conditions at SFO, see live FAA status.
SFO in December lands a B, 3 points better than the national rate of 73.2%. About one flight in four arrives 15 minutes late or worse, and those flights are late by a little over an hour on average. That rests on 11,975 flights, of which American Airlines flew 884 at 82.6% on time.
American Airlines is the most reliable of the six carriers covered here at 82.6% on time across 884 flights.
Key figures
On time
76.3%
Arrivals under 15 minutes late, of 11,812 completed departures
Avg delay
81 min
Across delayed arrivals only, not all flights
Cancelled
1.07%
Nationally in December: 1.55%
Whole year
75.3%
SFO across all twelve months
These figures cover 11,975 departures from San Francisco International in December 2025. On time means an arrival less than 15 minutes after the scheduled gate time, the DOT's threshold, and the national comparison uses every US departure in the same month rather than the whole year.
Against the year
December next to SFO's other months
Against SFO's own year, December ran about a point better than the twelve-month rate of 75.3%, which makes it number seven of twelve months, best first. Either side of it, November ran 78.6% on time and January 82.5%, so a trip moved by a few weeks would have landed in a better stretch.
| Month | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2025 | 11,830 | 82.4% | 58 min | 0.25% | B+ |
| October 2025 | 12,774 | 80.1% | 61 min | 0.36% | B+ |
| November 2025 | 12,022 | 78.6% | 66 min | 1.86% | B |
| December 2025 (this page) | 11,975 | 76.3% | 81 min | 1.07% | B |
| January 2026 | 11,113 | 82.5% | 85 min | 2.43% | B |
| February 2026 | 10,316 | 81.7% | 77 min | 1.21% | B |
| March 2026 | 12,171 | 84.0% | 72 min | 1.02% | B |
| April 2026 | 12,401 | 74.7% | 63 min | 0.70% | C+ |
| May 2026 | 13,114 | 70.1% | 64 min | 0.79% | C+ |
| June 2026 | 13,415 | 67.1% | 67 min | 0.70% | C+ |
| July 2026 | 13,841 | 66.1% | 66 min | 1.15% | C |
| August 2026 | 13,560 | 65.5% | 64 min | 0.73% | C+ |
Departure window
The best time of day to leave SFO in December
Departure time matters more here than the choice of carrier. The gap between the best and worst window is 22 points, against 22 points between the best and worst carrier.
- 5am–8am1,740 flights89.7%
- 8am–11am2,557 flights80.7%
- 11am–2pm2,271 flights72.0%
- 2pm–5pm1,751 flights67.5%
- 5pm–8pm1,469 flights72.4%
- 8pm–5am2,187 flights74.8%
Scale runs 60% to 95%.
Book the early departure. Flights leaving between 5am–8am arrive on time 89.7% of the time, against 67.5% for the afternoon window. That is 22 points of difference for no extra money, and it comes from the same aircraft having had no earlier flight to fall behind on. The 8am–11am window is the busiest, with 2,557 flights scheduled in it.
Across the week, Wednesday is the strongest day at 82.1% on time and Sunday the weakest at 68.6%, a spread of 14 points.
Carrier by carrier
Which airlines ran best at SFO in December
The choice of carrier is not cosmetic here. American Airlines arrives on time 82.6% of the time; Southwest Airlines manages 60.2%. Sample sizes sit next to every figure, because a two-point gap across 747 flights means less than a ten-point one.
| Airline | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines | 4,916 | 80.6% | 63 min | 0.16% | B+ |
| SkyWest Airlines | 2,793 | 71.5% | 104 min | 2.22% | C |
| Delta Air Lines | 1,099 | 77.6% | 81 min | 2.18% | B |
| American Airlines | 884 | 82.6% | 109 min | 0.68% | B+ |
| Alaska Airlines | 849 | 75.2% | 66 min | 0.82% | B+ |
| Southwest Airlines | 747 | 60.2% | 67 min | 0.40% | D+ |
| JetBlue Airwaysthin sample | 340 | 76.7% | 100 min | 1.47% | B |
| Frontier Airlinesthin sample | 260 | 67.9% | 84 min | 3.08% | C− |
| Hawaiian Airlinesthin sample | 86 | 82.3% | 56 min | 5.81% | B− |
The spread between American and Southwest is 22 points, wide enough that it should decide the booking. On a hundred trips that is 22 more arrivals inside the on-time window.
Route by route
Busiest routes out of SFO in December
| Route | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO to LAX · Los Angeles | 846 | 71.2% | 67 min | 0.59% | C+ |
| SFO to SEA · Seattle | 559 | 73.7% | 70 min | 0.72% | C+ |
| SFO to JFK · New York | 536 | 79.5% | 87 min | 2.43% | B |
| SFO to LAS · Las Vegas | 511 | 78.0% | 59 min | 0.59% | B+ |
| SFO to SAN · San Diego | 486 | 61.2% | 71 min | 0.62% | D+ |
| SFO to DEN · Denver | 456 | 74.6% | 64 min | 0.44% | C+ |
| SFO to PHX · Phoenix | 425 | 74.8% | 96 min | 0.24% | C+ |
| SFO to SNA · Santa Ana | 394 | 78.3% | 90 min | 2.28% | B |
| SFO to ORD · Chicago | 391 | 80.4% | 69 min | 0.77% | B+ |
| SFO to EWR · Newark | 366 | 70.3% | 88 min | 0.55% | C+ |
| SFO to BOS · Bostonthin sample | 356 | 81.6% | 72 min | 0.56% | B+ |
| SFO to DFW · Dallas-Fort Worththin sample | 339 | 78.9% | 82 min | 0.88% | B+ |
| SFO to IAH · Houstonthin sample | 311 | 83.9% | 54 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| SFO to SLC · Salt Lake Citythin sample | 294 | 71.5% | 78 min | 1.02% | C |
| SFO to ATL · Atlantathin sample | 271 | 80.7% | 83 min | 2.21% | B |
| SFO to AUS · Austinthin sample | 260 | 74.5% | 63 min | 0.38% | C+ |
| SFO to BUR · Burbankthin sample | 254 | 70.4% | 89 min | 1.57% | C |
| SFO to IAD · Washingtonthin sample | 245 | 86.5% | 51 min | 0.00% | A+ |
| SFO to PDX · Portlandthin sample | 235 | 78.6% | 70 min | 0.43% | B+ |
| SFO to HNL · Honoluluthin sample | 221 | 84.7% | 84 min | 2.26% | B |
| SFO to PSP · Palm Springsthin sample | 199 | 70.6% | 92 min | 2.51% | C |
| SFO to RNO · Renothin sample | 191 | 72.0% | 85 min | 1.57% | C |
| SFO to PHL · Philadelphiathin sample | 160 | 88.1% | 172 min | 0.62% | A+ |
| SFO to OGG · Kahuluithin sample | 154 | 95.4% | 61 min | 0.00% | A+ |
| SFO to BOI · Boisethin sample | 151 | 68.0% | 94 min | 0.66% | C+ |
Delay causes
What held SFO up in December
Late-arriving aircraft accounts for 44% of the 226,000 delay minutes carriers reported here, and the remaining four split what is left.
- 44%Late-arriving aircraft
- 31%Carrier
- 18%National Airspace System
- 7%Extreme weather
- 0%Security
44% of delay minutes trace back to a late-arriving aircraft, meaning the plane was already behind before it got here. Across 226,000 reported delay minutes here, that single category outweighs weather by 6 to one. The split is drawn from 225,721 reported delay minutes.
Cancellations sit at 1.07% against a national 1.55%, which is ordinary. Diversions add another 0.29%.
9.9% of arrivals land a full hour or more behind schedule, against 10.0% nationally. Ninety minutes is the honest minimum for a connection here, and two hours if the onward flight is on a separate ticket.
What to do with this
Flying from SFO in December
For a December trip through SFO: expect 76.3% on time and 1.07% cancelled, going by December 2025. The 5am–8am window was the strongest part of the day.
Related
Where to go next
- San Francisco International (SFO), the whole year
- SFO in September82.4%
- SFO in October80.1%
- SFO in November78.6%
- SFO in January82.5%
- SFO in February81.7%
- SFO in March84.0%
- SFO in April74.7%
- SFO in May70.1%
- SFO in June67.1%
- SFO in July66.1%
- SFO in August65.5%
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, on-time performance data, September 2025 to August 2026. Last updated ; recomputed monthly. How this data is collected.