San Francisco International Airport passengers are facing more delays than officials initially expected as crews continue a major runway repaving project.<\/p>\n
Airport officials say a Federal Aviation Administration restriction on side-by-side landings, combined with the six-month closure of Runway 1R, have led to delays for about 40% of flights.<\/p>\n
When the project began in March, SFO had estimated that about 15% of flights would be delayed.<\/p>\n
“That FAA procedural change is a far greater impact than this runway project,” SFO spokesperson Doug Yakel said.<\/p>\n
The airport says some relief is coming. A recent FAA decision to allow staggered arrivals is expected to improve capacity, and officials say operations should be much closer to normal by October.<\/p>\n
“When we get to October we’ll be returning to a much more normal arrival rate,” Yakel said.<\/p>\n
The repaving project remains on schedule, according to SFO.<\/p>\n
Crews are laying down more than 2,000 tons of asphalt each day as they rebuild Runway 1R. The runway was last repaved about 15 years ago.<\/p>\n
SFO airfield program manager Daniel Lee said the work is designed to reduce the risk of unexpected runway closures in the future.<\/p>\n
“Potholes or cracks that come up, we have to shut down the runway,” Lee said. “It really causes a lot of impacts on passengers, including delays.”<\/p>\n
The asphalt used on airport runways is higher grade than the material typically used on roads, but officials say it still needs to be replaced about every 10 years.<\/p>\n
“We’ve had closures like this on all of our other runways,” Yakel said. “This is really the last major closure we’ll be dealing with for a while.”<\/p>\n
The project also includes work on taxiways, new LED lighting, signage and storm drains.<\/p>\n
The total cost is about $215 million, with roughly half funded by the Federal Aviation Administration.<\/p>\n
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