San Francisco International Airport to increase landing frequency under new FAA rules

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has approved new regulations for San Francisco International Airport (SFO) intended to mitigate significant flight delays. The new rules will allow for staggered parallel landings, a move expected to increase the number of hourly arrivals from 36 to 40 by August 12, with a further increase to 42 arrivals per hour expected by the end of the month.

These changes follow FAA security restrictions implemented in March that prohibited side-by-side landings on east-to-west runways, requiring pilots to use a staggered approach instead. This restriction contributed to a rise in delays, with over one-third of flights experiencing delays of 15 minutes or more. While the new rules represent progress, airport spokesperson Doug Yakel noted that they may not fully restore previous arrival rates, particularly if poor weather visibility necessitates a return to prohibited parallel landing protocols. These regulatory shifts occur alongside a construction project that will keep two runways out of service until October.