San Francisco (SFO): why flights run late and what you are owed
51.59% of SFO’s July 2026 domestic arrivals were on time, the lowest share of the five US airports this site compares and 17.9 points under the 69.49% national figure. Only 1.30% were canceled, while BTS attributes the equivalent of 28.55% of arrivals to National Aviation System delay. SFO flight delays earn no federal cash. A refund, not compensation, follows only once arrival runs 3 hours late on a domestic trip or 6 on an international one and you decline the airline’s alternative.
SFO’s July 2026 domestic arrivals were on time, the lowest share of the five 
US airports this site compares and 17.9 points under the 69.49% national figure. Only 1.30% were canceled, while BTS attributes the equivalent of 28.55% of arrivals to National Aviation System delay. 
- US DOT $Refundno fixed cash for a delay; refund after a significant change
- EU261 €€250–€600per passenger, 3 h or more late at arrival
- UK261 ££220–£520per passenger, 3 h or more late at arrival
#Which rules cover delayed flights departing SFO?
3(5) is the EU261 article that makes the operating carrier, not the airport or the ticket seller, owe a European payment. From SFO that payment exists only on a flight into the EU on a Community carrier, or into the UK on a UK or Community carrier.
EU on a Community carrier, or into the 
UK on a A ticket sold by one airline and flown by another is judged by the operator: an SFO-to-Frankfurt flight operated by a Community carrier such as Lufthansa carries EU261, while the same route operated by a US airline does not, whichever airline sold you the seat. For the UK, a US airline’s flight from SFO to London sits outside UK261, because arrivals into the UK are covered only on a UK or Community carrier.
Lufthansa carries EU261, while the same route operated by a On the US side, DOT’s Fly Rights page says airlines are not required to compensate passengers on domestic itineraries whose flights are delayed or canceled. The refund rule, the 30-minute status notice and the tarmac limits are federal protections that do apply to a late SFO flight.
Check the operating carrier on your booking, not the airport. A connection into Canada can raise the Air Passenger Protection Regulations; the EU261 and UK261 hubs explain the European amounts, the regime finder sorts a mixed booking. Denver sits on the same airport index.
Canada can raise the Source: EU261 art. 3(1)(b), 3(5) — eur-lex.europa.eu; UK261 art. 3(1)(b) — legislation.gov.uk; DOT Fly Rights — transportation.gov; 14 CFR 259.4, 259.8, 260.2 — ecfr.gov, checked 2026-09-15.
#How did SFO arrivals perform in July 2026?
51.59% of SFO’s 14,023 domestic arrivals landed on time in July 2026, the lowest share of the five US airports this site compares and 17.9 points under the 69.49% national rate. Cancellations ran at just 1.30%, diversions at 0.29%. Nine carriers reported SFO data to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics that month.
The next-widest gap among the five is JFK’s, 10.4 points under the national figure, while Chicago O’Hare sits within a point of it. JFK canceled 11.75% of its arrivals; SFO 1.30%. 46.82% of all counted SFO arrivals ran 15 minutes or more late.
JFK’s, 10.4 points under the national figure, while 
Chicago O’HareThese figures cover only domestic arrivals of carriers reporting to BTS, for one month, so international flights and foreign carriers such as Virgin Atlantic and Lufthansa are not in them. BTS also prorates multi-cause delays across categories, so the cause shares on this page are an attribution, not a count of flights with one reason.
Virgin Atlantic and BTS on-time arrivals, July 2026 | SFO | National |
|---|---|---|
Domestic arrivals counted | 14,023 | 697,754 |
On time | 51.59% | 69.49% |
Canceled | 1.30% | 2.79% |
Diverted | 0.29% | 0.52% |
Late, not canceled, is the SFO profile in this month’s data.
Source: US DOT BTS, Airline On-Time Statistics and Delay Causes, period 24319 (July 2026) — transtats.bts.gov, checked 2026-09-22.
#Why were SFO flights late, and what does a late arrival get you?
28.55% of SFO’s July 2026 arrivals is the share BTS attributes to National Aviation System delay, one of its five cause categories, after prorating multi-cause delays. The code decides nothing about a refund: the same 3-hour domestic, 6-hour international arrival threshold applies whatever category a delay carries.
BTS sorts delay into five categories: air carrier, weather, National Aviation System, security and late-arriving aircraft. The label is a category, not a reason, and BTS gives no explanation of why SFO’s share was so high. From 19 October 2026 a DOT rule adds a reporting category for ten statutory events kept out of the “air carrier” code, so later SFO cause figures will not line up with July 2026.
The refund test in 14 CFR 260.2 is written in hours of arrival delay, not in cause codes.
Worked example: the airline retimes an SFO-to-Seattle flight so that it will land 5 hours late, NAS-coded. Nobody owes cash for the wait. Decline to travel on it or on the rebooking, and the 5-hour arrival delay passes the 3-hour domestic line, so the fare, taxes and fees are due back under the refund rule. Fly it anyway and the refund route closes. Ask the gate agent which cause the airline is recording, and write it down.
Source: US DOT BTS, delay-cause categories — transtats.bts.gov, checked 2026-09-22; Federal Register 2026-18040 (91 FR 56588) — federalregister.gov; 14 CFR 260.2, 260.6 — ecfr.gov, checked 2026-09-15.
#Where do you complain after a late SFO flight?
Two deadlines bind the airline once you complain in writing about a late SFO flight: 30 days to acknowledge and 60 days to answer in full, under 14 CFR 259.7(c). Start with the airline; an unanswered or inadequate reply can then go to the DOT’s Office of Aviation Consumer Protection.
The dashboard commitments cover disruptions within the airline’s control, so ask the airline in writing what caused your delay. Quote any commitment in its customer service plan that you think applies. If you declined to fly once the airline put your arrival 3 hours or more behind schedule, add the refund request and the date you declined.
Escalation is online at secure.dot.gov/air-travel-complaint or on paper to the Office of Aviation Consumer Protection, U.S. DOT, 1200 New Jersey Ave SE, Washington DC 20590. Do not expect an investigation of one late flight. DOT reviews service complaints selectively, by target or sample, and its main step is to direct the airline to reply to you with a copy to the Department; civil-rights complaints are the exception.
A European claim exists only if a Community carrier flew you from SFO into the EU, or a UK or Community carrier into the UK, and it goes to that airline before the arrival country’s enforcement body; the US complaint page covers the DOT process. The airline delay rankings give each reporting carrier’s June 2026 on-time share.
General information, not legal advice. For your specific case: the DOT Office of Aviation Consumer Protection or a consumer protection attorney.
#Sources
- U.S. DOT, Fly Rights - transportation.gov, checked 2026-09-15.
- U.S. DOT BTS, Airline On-Time Statistics and Delay Causes - transtats.bts.gov, checked 2026-09-22.
- Federal Register, Cause of Airline Delay and Cancellation Categories, 2026-18040 (91 FR 56588) - federalregister.gov, checked 2026-09-15.
- 14 CFR Part 260, Refunds - ecfr.gov, checked 2026-09-15.
- 14 CFR Part 259, Enhancing Airline Passenger Protections - ecfr.gov, checked 2026-09-15.
- U.S. DOT, File a Consumer Complaint - transportation.gov, checked 2026-09-15.
- Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, art. 3 - eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.
- Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 as it forms part of UK law, art. 3 - legislation.gov.uk, checked 2026-09-15.