SFO delays today are piling up fast. Strong winds have pushed the FAA to put San Francisco International under a ground delay program, which means flights headed there are being held at their departure airports before they take off. According to flight tracking app True Skies, which flagged the worsening delay early Tuesday afternoon, flights headed to SFO are now being held an average of 114 minutes, close to two hours, and the longest delays are running as high as 519 minutes, more than eight and a half hours. The program is set to run until 11:59 p.m. Pacific time Tuesday.
If you're flying into San Francisco today, or connecting there, expect to spend a lot of time at your gate. Cancellations have been low so far, so most flights are still going. They're just leaving late.
Why Wind Hits SFO So Hard
San Francisco has a quirk most travelers never notice. Its two main runways run side by side only about 750 feet apart, closer than at almost any other big US airport. On a clear, calm day, that's not a problem: controllers bring planes in two at a time, side by side, and the airport can handle a lot of arrivals every hour.
When the weather turns, that trick stops working. Strong or gusty winds, low clouds or poor visibility mean planes can't safely land that close together, so controllers space them out and use the runways one plane at a time. That can cut the number of arrivals SFO can take each hour sharply, while airlines still have a full day of flights scheduled. With too many planes and not enough landing slots, the FAA holds flights on the ground at their departure airports rather than let them circle over the Bay burning fuel.
That's why SFO is one of the most delay-prone big airports in the country, even on days when it barely rains.
What a Ground Delay Means for You
A ground delay program isn't the same as a full ground stop. Planes are still flying to San Francisco, but each flight gets a later departure time, so it arrives when there's a slot for it to land. That's why your flight might board an hour or two late in Chicago or New York even though the weather there is fine.
If You're Flying Today
Check your airline's app before you leave for the airport, since your new departure time usually shows up there first. For live delay times at SFO and every other US airport, True Skies tracks ground delays and ground stops as they're issued. If you're connecting through SFO, ask your airline about moving to a later connection now rather than waiting to miss it, and look at whether you can connect somewhere else, like Los Angeles or Denver.
Weather delays don't come with cash compensation in the US, since the weather is out of the airline's control. But if your flight is canceled, or delayed three hours or more on a domestic trip (six on an international one), you're entitled to a full refund if you decide not to fly. If you do stay stuck, it's worth asking about meal vouchers, since many airlines offer them for long delays even when they don't have to.
