San Francisco International Airport has been a mess lately. United Airlines is calling it messy. Data confirms it. In June, one in three flights arrived late. We are talking at least fifteen minutes past schedule. The problem isn’t going away tomorrow but United says help is coming.
What Caused The Flight Delays At SFO Recently
It’s a combination of construction and strict FAA rules. Since April the Bay Area hub has struggled with heavy delays. The root causes are clear.
- Runway Construction. Crews have been working on runways since spring. This work isn’t finished. It won’t end until October.
- FAA Restrictions. In late March the Federal Aviation Administration slapped down a new rule. It banned famous side-by-side landings.
Parallel landings are a thing here. They allow planes to land almost at the same time. The FAA stopped it for safety. Now fewer planes can land per hour. The air traffic ties up. Planes sit in holding patterns. Passengers miss connections.
Last month I saw it firsthand. My Alaska Airlines flight sat on the tarmac in San Diego. Ground delays at SFO caused it.
Cirium data backs up the chaos. Over the last three months significant delays into SFO jumped 60%. Compared to the start of the year? Way worse. On some days nearly half of all arrivals are late.
When Will United And FAA Improve SFO Landing Rates
There is light at the end of the runway. Literally. United works with the FAA closely. They are the biggest carrier there after all.
Thursday they announced a new approach. It should let more planes land every hour. It’s not a magic fix but it helps.
Toby Enqvist. United’s COO. He told analysts things will get better soon. He isn’t promising a full return to old norms. He expects improvement in the next two to three weeks.
United CEO Scott Kirby sees October as the bigger win. That is when the runway work ends. Until then the construction drives delays. He called it a big driver.
The FAA didn’t comment. Typical.
“We should see improvements in landing rates over the next two to three weeks.” — Toby Enqvist, United COO
Which US Airports Are Most Capacity Constrained?
SFO wasn’t built for this much traffic. Not without bottlenecks.
It is one of four major hubs in the US. They face strict schedule management. Why? Congestion. SFO doesn’t have fixed slots. That is different from JFK or LaGuardia. Those places have rigid slot rules.
SFO just manages traffic.
The other three airports on this watchlist are:
- O’Hare International (ORD)
- Los Angeles International (LAX)
- Newark Liberty International (EWR)
Note that all of those are also United hubs. They know pain. O’Hare has its own issues right now. Turf wars with American Airlines plus construction. The FAA extended limits there through October 2026. Maybe 2027? Check the news. It’s bad there too.
So what now? If you are flying to the Bay Area. Expect delays. Maybe less soon. Maybe not. The summer rush isn’t over.
