Flights San Francisco → Sacramento
SFO → SMF
How long is the flight from San Francisco to Sacramento?
The flight from San Francisco (SFO) to Sacramento (SMF) takes about 36 min. This is an estimate based on the distance between the two airports: the real time depends on the aircraft, wind and any stops.
Route overview
The flight route from San Francisco to Sacramento operates with an average on-time performance rate of 79%, with flights typically experiencing a mean delay of 16 minutes. Over the course of a year, this route sees 344 total flights using Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia aircraft, serving a destination airport that handles approximately 12,313,370 passengers annually.
Your rights on this US flight (DOT)
US flights have no statutory cash compensation for delays. Under the US DOT rules, if your flight is cancelled or significantly changed and you decline rebooking, you're owed an automatic refund of the unused ticket. The tarmac-delay limit is 3 hours (domestic) / 4 hours (international). Amenities for controllable delays depend on each airline's contract of carriage.
US flight refund rules & checker →General information, not legal advice.
The San Francisco (SFO) → Sacramento (SMF) route is operated by United Airlines. Across 764 flights monitored in recent months, 75% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 16 minutes. The cancellation rate is 0.52%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 23.3/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At Sacramento the average ATFM delay is 5.5 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from San Francisco the average ATFM delay is 5.5 minutes.
Heading to Sacramento: what to expect in this direction
Flying from San Francisco (SFO) to Sacramento (SMF) heads north-east for about 138 km, a flight time of roughly 36m.
Departures from San Francisco on this leg cluster in the morning window: about 40% of SFO-SMF flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing San Francisco the average ATFM delay is 5.5 min (atfm); arriving into Sacramento it is 5.5 min (atfm).
Across 764 tracked SFO-SMF flights, 75% left on time with an average delay of 16 min and a 0.5% cancellation rate.
Route facts
Flights on this route
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Airline punctuality on this route
| Airline | On-time | Average delay | Cancellations |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines (UA) | 83% | 5 min | 1.3% |
Airlines operating SFO-SMF
Airports
Frequently asked questions about SFO-SMF
The flight from San Francisco (SFO) to Sacramento (SMF) takes about 36 min. This is an estimate based on the distance between the two airports: the real time depends on the aircraft, wind and any stops.
On the San Francisco (SFO) -> Sacramento (SMF) route, on-time performance is 75% with an average delay of 16 minutes, based on 764 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on San Francisco-Sacramento is 0.52% across 764 monitored flights.
The route is operated by 1 airline: United Airlines.
Enter your flight number on FlightGuard for a real-time analysis based on 9 factors: weather at Sacramento, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel, airline punctuality and recent trends.
US flights have no statutory cash compensation for delays. Under US DOT rules, if the airline cancels or significantly changes your flight and you decline rebooking, you're owed an automatic refund of the unused ticket. The tarmac-delay limit is 3 hours (domestic) / 4 hours (international). Meals or hotels for controllable delays depend on each airline's contract of carriage.
