SFO uniquely<\/a> has two main landing runways, about 750 feet apart<\/a>. On a clear day, planes can land side-by-side, allowing around 60 arrivals per hour<\/a>. On foggy days, SFO avoids these dual arrivals<\/a> for safety reasons and reduces arrivals to 30 per hour.<\/a><\/p>\n Now, the FAA told KQED that the agency\u2019s \u201csafety measure prohibits flights from making side-by-side approaches to SFO\u2019s parallel east-west runways in clear weather when the pilots acknowledge having the other aircraft in sight.\u201d<\/p>\n And as of Monday, the FAA\u2019s new rule for SFO landings \u201crequires staggered approaches, with one aircraft offset from the aircraft on the parallel runway,\u201d the statement reads.<\/p>\n This change has already led to flight delays \u201caveraging around 30 minutes,\u201d SFO spokesperson Doug Yakel said.<\/p>\n So if you have an upcoming flight in or out of SFO, or are planning to travel soon, what should you know? Read more on these restrictions and how they could impact your flights in and out of the Bay\u2019s biggest airport.<\/p>\n Jump straight to:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Firstly, you should know: Delays caused by this new FAA runway restriction are coming on the heels of unrelated construction work at SFO that\u2019s also <\/em>causing delays.<\/p>\n On March 30, unrelated to the recent FAA restriction, SFO closed Runway 1 Right<\/a> for construction that is predicted to last six months. Yakel said the airport is currently forecasting that 15% of flights will be delayed over the next half a year due to this project.<\/p>\n But now, on top of that, the FAA restriction will also <\/em>\u201cincrease the delay potential to approximately 25% of arriving flights experiencing a delay of at least 30 minutes,\u201d Yakel said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are working with the FAA on ways to improve the arrival rate at SFO,\u201d Yakel said to KQED. \u201cWe remain in contact with both the FAA and airlines on this issue.\u201d<\/p>\n The FAA confirmed to KQED that it is \u201cexploring ways to safely increase the airport arrival rate.\u201d<\/p>\n All of which is to say: Between construction and the new FAA restriction, there\u2019s a higher chance passengers will face flight delays at SFO.<\/p>\n The restriction \u2014 and the 25%-of-flights-affected figure \u2014 apply to arriving flights, Yakel said.<\/p>\n \u201cBut if that arriving aircraft is turning around to represent a departing flight, that could also experience a delay,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n That means that even if your flight leaves <\/em>from SFO, you could still be left waiting \u2014 because the plane your flight is using has been delayed arriving.<\/p>\n This depends on the airlines, Yakel said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know they are looking into this,\u201d he said. \u201cAirlines would communicate such changes directly to affected customers.\u201d<\/p>\n A spokesperson with United Airlines \u2014 which has its hub at SFO<\/a> \u2014 said that they are \u201creviewing the FAA\u2019s updated guidance to determine if we will need to make any changes to our flight schedule in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe encourage customers to check their flight status in the United app,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n KQED photographer Beth LaBerge<\/a>, who previously worked for years as a customer service agent for Delta Airlines, said in a previous guide exploring hacks for navigating SFO smoothly<\/a> that the airport is already known<\/a> for what\u2019s called \u201cflow control delay,\u201d<\/a> especially during morning flights when the marine layer<\/a> comes in.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.kqed.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/11\/251210-SFOEating-24-BL_qed.jpg\")
What are the changes to SFO\u2019s runways, and why will this cause flight delays?<\/h2>\n
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Does this just affect incoming flights at SFO?<\/h2>\n
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Will this impact existing bookings for flights arriving at SFO?<\/h2>\n
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