El Paso (ELP) to San Diego (SAN)
Flight time
≈ 2h 04m
Bearing
279° W
El Paso (ELP) to San Diego (SAN) is 635 miles (1,021 km) as the crow flies — the great-circle baseline most distance-based mileage programs credit.
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What actually flies ELP–SAN
US DOT T-100 · filed dataIn April 2026, Southwest Airlines operated the most departures, one of 2 carriers flying nonstop ELP–SAN; the Boeing 737 MAX 8 was the most common aircraft at 42% of departures; flights ran 43% full.
Departures
55
April 2026
Seats
9,130
both directions
Passengers
3,915
both directions
Load factor
42.9%
passengers ÷ seats
Who flies ELP–SAN?
Southwest Airlines operated the most nonstop ELP–SAN departures in April 2026 (54), one of 2 carriers on the route.
- WN
Southwest Airlines
54 departures · 8,956 seats
Share of departures98.2%43.4%
Load
- GCA
Global Crossing Airlines
1 departures · 174 seats
Share of departures1.8%14.4%
Load
What plane flies ELP–SAN?
In April 2026, the Boeing 737 MAX 8 flew 42% of ELP–SAN departures — more than any other aircraft type.
- Boeing 737 MAX 8
23 departures · 39.0% load
41.8% - Boeing 737-800
18 departures · 43.0% load
32.7% - Boeing 737-700
13 departures · 54.2% load
23.6% - Airbus A320
1 departures · 14.4% load
1.8%
How has ELP–SAN traffic changed?
Nonstop ELP–SAN departures fell from 67 in May 2025 to 55 in April 2026.
Monthly nonstop ELP–SAN traffic, trailing 12 months through April 2026. Bars scale to the busiest month; months with no filed service show as zero.
May 2025
67 departures · 6,306 passengers
63.5%
Load
June 2025
74 departures · 8,087 passengers
74.2%
Load
July 2025
62 departures · 7,239 passengers
74.4%
Load
August 2025
64 departures · 6,203 passengers
66.4%
Load
September 2025
66 departures · 6,605 passengers
70.5%
Load
October 2025
61 departures · 6,286 passengers
66.5%
Load
November 2025
60 departures · 5,284 passengers
57.8%
Load
December 2025
61 departures · 5,477 passengers
57.7%
Load
January 2026
62 departures · 4,578 passengers
49.4%
Load
February 2026
56 departures · 4,051 passengers
48.3%
Load
March 2026
61 departures · 5,305 passengers
59.9%
Load
April 2026
55 departures · 3,915 passengers
42.9%
Load
By direction
The DOT files each direction separately — they rarely match.
ELP → SAN
45.2% full
28 departures · 2,144 passengers
SAN → ELP
40.4% full
27 departures · 1,771 passengers
Nonstop ELP–SAN traffic has been filed with the US DOT since 2025.
Source: US DOT BTS Form 41 T-100 Segment (All Carriers). Data through April 2026; filings from 2025. Public domain (US Government work). The DOT publishes roughly three months in arrears.
The airports
Frequently asked
How far is El Paso (ELP) from San Diego (SAN)?
ELP to SAN is 635 miles (1,021 km / 552 nautical miles) measured great-circle — the shortest path over the surface of the Earth.
How long is the flight from ELP to SAN?
A nonstop covers the 635-mile great-circle distance in roughly 2h 04m of block time, before winds. Actual schedules vary a few percent by direction and aircraft.
What plane flies ELP–SAN?
In April 2026, the Boeing 737 MAX 8 flew the largest share of departures (41.8%), followed by the Boeing 737-800 (32.7%).
What mileage do I earn flying ELP–SAN?
Distance-based programs credit off the 635-mile great-circle figure, then apply your fare-class earning rate. Revenue-based programs credit off the fare instead.
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