Santa Barbara
SBA · KSBASanta Barbara Municipal Airport
Passengers a year
1.5M
#117 busiest in the U.S.
14
nonstop destinations
16
airlines
25
departures a day
81.9%
arrivals on time
1.2%
flights cancelled
74.2%
load factor
Airlines
United Airlines is the largest carrier at Santa Barbara, with 36% of all passengers. 16 airlines fly from here.
Share of passengers · each carrier as a slice of the whole airport
United Airlines holds 36% of the airport — the 41st most concentrated of 79 small hubs. The nearest comparison is BTV at 36%.
| Airline | Share | Passengers | Seats YoY | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UA | 35.8% | 536.4K | 4 | 78.9% | +31.8% |
WN Southwest65% full | 22.8% | 341.8K | 4 | 80.1% | +3.1% |
AA | 20.2% | 302.6K | 2 | 78.1% | +28.1% |
AS | 10.6% | 159.4K | 3 | 79.9% | +2.7% |
DL | 10.5% | 156.6K | 2 | 72.5% | -37.7% |
Share, passengers and destinations count each airline’s own flights plus the regional flying sold under its brand. On-time covers the airline's own aircraft only — regional affiliates report to the government separately. Seats year on year compares the latest twelve months against the twelve before them.
Destinations
14 nonstop destinations from Santa Barbara, all domestic.
100% domestic · 0% international · by departing passengers
Top domestic destinations
United Airlines · Southwest Airlines
123.6K123,561 departing · 66% full
United Airlines
American Airlines
Southwest Airlines
57.3K57,349 departing · 71% full
Delta Air Lines
Alaska Airlines
49.2K49,168 departing · 86% full
American Airlines
33.5K33,532 departing · 61% full
Southwest Airlines
28.4K28,442 departing · 59% full
United Airlines
Delta Air Lines
All nonstop destinations
14 nonstop · 5 airlines · 14 domestic / 0 intl
United Express · operated by SkyWest Airlines
Aircraft
By share of departures at Santa Barbara.
Body class · share of departures
- Regional
3,122 departures · 79% full
34.6%
- Narrowbody
1,470 departures · 75% full
16.3%
- Narrowbody
1,126 departures · 66% full
12.5%
- Narrowbody
1,022 departures · 78% full
11.3%
- Narrowbody
886 departures · 61% full
9.8%
- Narrowbody
530 departures · 70% full
5.9%
- Regional
270 departures · 78% full
3.0%
- Narrowbody
223 departures · 81% full
2.5%
- Narrowbody
154 departures · 55% full
1.7%
- Regional
94 departures · 82% full
1.0%
When Santa Barbara is busiest
Departures by month over the trailing year. Bars scale to the busiest month.
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Departures a month · peak May 2026
Annual passengers since 1990
Total passengers, arriving and departing, in every year on record.
Passengers a year
Every year
- 1990
- 463,020
- 1991
- 435,555
- 1992
- 376,658
- 1993
- 274,950
- 1994
- 235,534
- 1995
- 215,759
- 1996
- 266,615
- 1997
- 356,611
- 1998
- 435,512
- 1999
- 491,450
- 2000
- 507,794
- 2001
- 404,292
- 2002
- 393,155
- 2003
- 754,765
- 2004
- 827,170
- 2005
- 852,520
- 2006
- 859,229
- 2007
- 824,709
- 2008
- 824,208
- 2009
- 753,161
- 2010
- 765,681
- 2011
- 726,014
- 2012
- 728,966
- 2013
- 714,433
- 2014
- 661,989
- 2015
- 627,134
- 2016
- 652,834
- 2017
- 707,430
- 2018
- 800,150
- 2019
- 1,011,907
- 2020
- 385,693
- 2021
- 894,701
- 2022
- 1,247,203
- 2023
- 1,292,312
- 2024
- 1,394,036
- 2025
- 1,481,869
- 2026
- 576,965 so far
Arriving on time
Of every 100 flights landing at Santa Barbara, 82 touch down within 15 minutes of schedule, 17 arrive late, and 1 is cancelled.
Every 100 arrivals
13 min
average delay
103
flights cancelled
8.5K
arrivals measured
What holds flights up
Share of delay minutes
Most reliable here
SkyWest Airlines 87.5%
Least reliable here
Delta Air Lines 72.5%
Among US airports
#117
On time, month by month
J
A
S
O
N
D
J
F
M
A
M
J
Darker is better · 77%–86.3%
The weak spot is June 2026, when 77% of arrivals landed on time — 4.9 points below the year. The strongest was January 2026 at 86.3%.
Frequently asked
How busy is Santa Barbara Municipal Airport (SBA)?
Santa Barbara Municipal Airport handled about 1.5M passengers over the trailing 12 months, ranking #117 among U.S. airports by passengers, with roughly 25 departures a day.
Which airline is the largest at Santa Barbara Municipal Airport (SBA)?
United Airlines is the largest carrier at Santa Barbara (SBA), flying about 36% of its passengers. 16 airlines serve Santa Barbara in total.
How many places can you fly nonstop from Santa Barbara Municipal Airport (SBA)?
Santa Barbara (SBA) has 14 nonstop destinations, all domestic.
How often do flights arrive on time at Santa Barbara Municipal Airport (SBA)?
About 81.9% of flights arriving at Santa Barbara (SBA) touch down within 15 minutes of schedule, per US DOT figures. About 1.2% are cancelled.
What aircraft flies most from Santa Barbara Municipal Airport (SBA)?
The Embraer E175 flew the largest share of departures from Santa Barbara (SBA), about 35% of the total.
Departing counts passengers leaving Santa Barbara. Data: traffic June 2025 – May 2026, on-time July 2025 – June 2026. Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics (T-100 Segment, On-Time Performance).