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San Francisco International Airport passengers are being warned to expect ongoing delays as a major runway repaving project and federal limits on arrivals continue to constrain one of the nation’s busiest hubs.
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Runway 1R Closure Extends Capacity Squeeze
San Francisco International Airport closed Runway 1 Right (1R) on March 30, 2026, for a six month repaving and taxiway improvement project that has pushed more traffic onto the airport’s remaining runways. Airport construction notices and publicly available planning documents describe the work as a full resurfacing of the runway, along with upgrades to lighting, markings, and adjacent taxiways intended to meet current federal standards and improve safety over the long term.
During the closure, operations have shifted primarily to the 28 Left and 28 Right runways for both arrivals and departures. Federal advisories and construction impact reports indicate that this arrangement reduces flexibility during peak periods, especially when wind or weather conditions limit the use of crosswind runways. With one of SFO’s four primary runways out of service, overall movement rates are lower than in previous years, even when weather is favorable.
Airport updates now point to early October for the reopening of Runway 1R, slightly beyond the original six month window. SFO’s own travel impact alert notes that the project is expected to continue affecting schedules until that reopening, especially at the height of morning and evening bank periods when the largest number of flights are scheduled to arrive and depart.
Federal construction impact reporting shows the repaving project as part of a broader runway and taxiway reconstruction program planned for SFO in 2026, funded in part through national airport improvement grants. Those reports describe SFO as one of several large hubs undergoing runway work this year, but the combination of local geography, existing congestion, and concurrent federal traffic restrictions has made the effect on Bay Area travelers particularly noticeable.
FAA Restrictions Cut Arrival Rates and Trigger Programs
Separate from the construction, a federal order earlier this year reduced SFO’s allowable arrival rate by limiting how closely aircraft can land in parallel on the main 28 runways. According to published coverage and Federal Aviation Administration traffic management materials, the change initially removed side by side parallel approaches and cut the maximum arrival rate during peak times to around two thirds of previous levels.
That reduced arrival capacity has led to frequent use of ground delay programs, in which flights bound for SFO are intentionally held at their departure airports to prevent excessive airborne holding near the Bay Area. FAA advisories from the Air Traffic Control System Command Center list SFO as subject to such measures on multiple days this summer, attributing the constraints to both procedural compliance requirements and ongoing construction of Runway 1R and Taxiway W.
Chronicle reporting and subsequent analyses of federal on time performance data indicate that average delays at SFO have climbed sharply since the combination of runway work and the stricter landing rules took effect in early spring. The data cited in those reviews show average delays roughly quadrupling compared with the same period in 2025, with much of the added time concentrated in midday and late afternoon peaks.
In early August, local coverage reported that the FAA had partially relaxed its restrictions by allowing a higher frequency of staggered parallel landings under defined conditions. Even with that adjustment, airport officials and federal status dashboards continue to show periodic arrival and departure delays, suggesting that the system remains under strain whenever schedules and weather push demand close to the new limits.
Travelers See Delays Stretch Through Late Summer
Recent television coverage from the Bay Area and national transportation statistics both reflect the practical effect of these constraints for passengers. CBS San Francisco reported this week that travelers at SFO are still encountering longer waits than originally forecast when the project was announced, with some itineraries experiencing multiple hour disruptions as inbound aircraft miss their assigned arrival windows and crews time out.
Federal airport status pages at times show modest delays of 15 minutes or less, but those snapshots can mask the cumulative impact when ground delay programs are in place across much of the day. Because such programs hold flights at their origin airports to manage the flow into SFO, travelers may spend extra time on the ground before departure instead of circling in the Bay Area airspace, and the resulting missed connections can ripple across the network.
Analyses highlighted in regional coverage describe SFO’s on time performance as among the weakest of major U.S. airports in recent months. Industry observers point to the combination of reduced arrival rates, a closed runway, and flight schedules that have not yet been fully adjusted to the lower capacity. In effect, the same number of flights are contending for fewer landing slots, magnifying the effect of any minor disruption.
Public discussion on aviation and travel forums echoes this pattern, with passengers recounting extended delays on routes that historically have been considered reliable. While such individual accounts are anecdotal, they align with the broader statistical picture presented in federal performance reports and local media analyses.
Outlook: Some Relief Expected, But Constraints Remain
Looking ahead, several signals suggest that conditions at SFO may gradually improve later in the year, although structural limits on the airport’s capacity remain. The expected reopening of Runway 1R in early October should restore some operational flexibility, reducing the need to funnel nearly all traffic onto the 28 runways and easing pressure during adverse wind or weather patterns.
The FAA’s partial reversal of its earlier restrictions on parallel landings is also expected to boost arrival throughput when conditions permit staggered operations on the parallel runways. Local reporting notes that airport leaders anticipate fewer and shorter delays once both the runway is back in service and the revised procedures are fully implemented, though no specific timeline has been given for a return to pre construction performance levels.
At the same time, SFO’s geography and existing layout limit options for expanding runway capacity. The airport sits between the shoreline and Highway 101, and published planning documents emphasize that physical constraints make additional runways highly unlikely. That reality means the airport will continue to rely on procedural improvements, technology upgrades, and schedule management rather than new concrete to accommodate long term demand.
As national air traffic modernization efforts move forward, including recently announced upgrades to the FAA’s flow management systems, SFO is expected to be a key test case for how advanced forecasting tools and more granular traffic initiatives can help manage congestion at complex, capacity constrained hubs. For now, however, publicly available advisories and performance data indicate that travelers using SFO should be prepared for continued schedule variability through at least the early fall.
https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/sfo-runway-repaving-flight-delays-faa-restrictions/
https://www.fly.faa.gov/adv/adv_otherdis?adv_date=06022026&advn=9