- San Francisco International Airport increased its arrival limit to forty flights per hour on August twelfth, twenty twenty-six.
- The FAA approved a staggered parallel landing procedure to ease summer delays while maintaining strict safety standards.
- Full capacity remains limited until the one hundred eighty million dollar runway reconstruction project finishes in October.
San Francisco International Airport will raise its arrival limit on August 12 after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved a partial rollback of restrictions that have constrained flights since March.
The airport will initially handle 40 arrivals per hour, up from 36. The agency plans to increase that rate to 42 per hour by the end of August, although the previous clear-weather rate reached 54 arrivals per hour.
The revised procedure allows aircraft to land on both parallel runways in an offset sequence. It does not bring back simultaneous side-by-side approaches.
Some relief is coming. Delays remain possible.
SFO spokesperson Doug Yakel said the change should provide some “relief” after a summer of heavy delays. He also said the procedure would not fully restore the arrival rate available when side-by-side landings were permitted.
"On August 12th, the FAA will implement a revised procedure to allow for staggered parallel landings at SFO. While this will not fully restore the arrival rate we had when true side-by-side landings were permitted, this is nonetheless a step in the right direction."
The change took effect as Runway 1 Right remains closed for construction. That closure has forced more traffic onto the airport’s remaining runways while controllers manage tighter separation between arrivals.
The airport will add capacity in two stages
| Operating period | Arrival capacity | Procedure or condition |
|---|---|---|
| Before March restrictions | 54 per hour | Clear-weather side-by-side approaches permitted |
| March through August 11 | 36 per hour | Parallel landings prohibited |
| Starting August 12 | 40 per hour | Offset arrivals on both parallel runways |
| By the end of August | 42 per hour | Planned increase under the revised procedure |
The airport’s two closely spaced runways, 28L and 28R, sit only 750 feet apart. Standard safety protocols generally call for several thousand feet between runways used for simultaneous landings.
The agency ended a long-standing waiver for the side-by-side visual approaches in March. It cited the need to maintain separation standards after a series of close calls across the national airspace system.
Planes must now approach with one aircraft positioned behind the other. Low visibility or weather that reduces safety margins will still trigger the earlier restricted procedure.
Runway work helped push delays higher
Runway 1R closed on March 30 for a $180 million repaving project. The agency funded $92.1 million of the work, which is scheduled to finish with the runway’s reopening on October 3, 2026.
The project is expected to last six months. Construction has shifted departures toward 28L and 28R, temporarily increasing overhead noise for nearby residents.
The landing restrictions and runway closure arrived together. Airport officials described the resulting period as one of the “roughest periods in SFO’s recent history.”
Average delays rose from five minutes before the restrictions to more than 21 minutes afterward. About 41% of flights faced delays of at least 15 minutes this summer, compared with 18% in 2025.
Departures were also affected. More than 45% of departures and 37% of arrivals experienced significant delays during the peak summer months.
United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines reduced schedules or retimed flights to fit the 36-arrival-per-hour ceiling. Travelers were advised to check flight statuses frequently and build in at least 30-minute buffers.
Safety rules still limit the airport’s recovery
The revised operation increases throughput without returning to the former side-by-side pattern. That leaves the airport below its earlier clear-weather capacity even after the planned August increase.
Bryan Bedford, the agency’s administrator, said the March prohibition was needed to prevent “a single dangerous loss of separation” between aircraft using SFO’s closely spaced runways.
He has also linked the broader response to changes in controller operations and technology.
"We can't continue to operate the same way and expect better results. We're changing how we hire, train and schedule our controller workforce, and providing them with the state-of-the-art tools they need to succeed."
The agency lowered its 2026 controller target to 12,563 workers, while implementing a new air traffic controller workforce plan for fiscal years 2026 through 2028.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy framed the safety effort more broadly in March, citing concerns about pilot reliance on visual separation.
"The Trump Administration will continue to act decisively to keep you and your family safe when you fly. we identified an overreliance on pilot 'see and avoid' operations that contribute to safety events."
The airport expects runway construction to remain on schedule through early October. Until the runway reopens, the higher arrival rate will operate alongside the construction-related limits.
Airlines gain room, but weather can erase it
The 40-arrival rate should give carriers more scheduling flexibility than the 36-flight cap. The planned increase to 42 could provide another incremental improvement later in August.
Neither change guarantees a return to 54 arrivals per hour. The airport must still reduce capacity when visibility falls or weather narrows the available safety margins.
That condition can affect travelers even after the new procedure is in place. A clear-weather increase does not remove the operational restrictions tied to runway spacing, construction or staffing.
The next fixed date is October 3, 2026, when Runway 1R is slated to reopen. Until then, passengers flying through SFO should monitor their individual flight rather than rely only on the airport’s higher published arrival rate.
