Santa Barbara Municipal Airport Statistics

Santa Barbara Municipal Airport (SBA) serves as a key gateway on California’s Central Coast, connecting the Santa Barbara region and the UCSB campus to destinations across the United States through multiple partner airlines.

Santa Barbara Municipal Airport handles approximately 1.4 million passengers annually.

• The airport served 1.48 million passengers in 2025, surpassing its previous record and marking a 4.2% increase from 1.42 million in 2024.
• In 2019, the airport handled 998,691 passengers before the pandemic.
• Passenger traffic dropped sharply to 382,090 in 2020 (a 62% decline), then recovered to 873,374 in 2021.
• Recovery gained momentum in 2022 with 1.22 million passengers, followed by 1.28 million in 2023.

A mix of major and low-cost carriers operate at SBA, with Southwest Airlines and United Airlines holding the largest shares.

• In 2025, United Airlines led with 25.7% market share, supported by strong West Coast hub connections.
• Southwest Airlines followed with 22.7% of the annual passenger volume.
• SkyWest Airlines accounted for 16.8%, operating regional routes as a code-share partner.
• American Airlines held 12.7%, offering key connections to its hubs.
• Delta Air Lines had 8.7% after resuming service in 2024, including new routes like Atlanta.
• Together, these five airlines carried over 86% of SBA’s passengers, indicating a concentrated but competitive market.

In 2025, Santa Barbara Municipal Airport (SBA) featured 13 nonstop destinations.

• The airport offers only domestic routes, with no scheduled international service.
• International travel is accessible via connections through major U.S. hubs.
• Key destinations include Denver, Dallas, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Salt Lake City, Sacramento, Oakland and Atlanta.

Flight cancellations at SBA have remained relatively low since the pandemic, staying below 2.5%.

• In 2025, only 1.17% of flights were cancelled, the lowest rate in recent years.
• The highest rate occurred in 2020 at 5.60%, due to COVID-19 disruptions.
• The rate dropped to 1.77% in 2021 as schedules normalized.
• In 2022, cancellations rose slightly to 2.14% due to industry-wide staffing challenges, then improved to 1.57% in 2023 and 1.47% in 2024.

• Coastal fog and marine layers, especially in winter mornings, often require IFR operations and may delay departures.
• Summer afternoon winds can affect smaller aircraft and alter approach paths.
• Weather at hub airports like Denver, Phoenix, Dallas and Seattle may cause delays to inbound or outbound SBA flights.
• Airline operational issues such as crew scheduling and aircraft positioning can disrupt schedules at this smaller, non-hub airport.
• Air traffic control delays at major West Coast airports can occasionally impact connecting flights, though less frequently than at larger hubs.