As Many As 48 Hourly Arrivals: SFO Reopens Runway 1R After 6-Month Closure

Published Oct 2, 2026, 1:50 PM EDT Journalist – Aaron is an aviation and travel journalist with 14 years of experience in the travel and tourism industry. His background spans airport operations, aviation infrastructure, and travel consulting, having worked with global organizations across New Zealand, Europe, and North America. Combining industry expertise with firsthand travel experience across more than 52 countries and five continents, Aaron covers airlines, airports, aviation policy, and the wider travel sector. He is based in Canterbury, New Zealand. His work has been published in Simple Flying and featured by MSN, SAM CHUI Aviation & Travel, EIN News, Pakistan Defence, and Climate Depot. Runway 1R at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is back open after more than six months of being closed. The runway was closed earlier this year for a $215 million renovation project that aimed to repave the entire runway, during which workers poured more than 200,000 tons of asphalt. The project, which was partially funded by the Federal Aviation Administration ($92.1 million), saw the runway have a top-to-bottom makeover, including 64 miles (103 km) of new electrical cable and 2,440 new light fixtures. The adjacent taxiways were upgraded, while new painted line markings and signage were also installed. Runway 1R Has Been Closed Since March 30 Credit: vaalaa | Shutterstock San Francisco International Airport is one of the busiest airports on the US West Coast, and a major international gateway and hub for United Airlines. The closure of Runway 1R had operational impacts throughout the project, with all arrivals and departures moved to Runways 28L and 28R. Runway 1L was repurposed as an extra taxiway to minimize ground congestion. This saw the FAA temporarily reduce arrival rates, meaning fewer flights could arrive and depart at San Francisco. With runway 1R now reopened, the airport has been able to increase its capacity to up to 48 flights per hour. The runway reopened on Tuesday, September 29, 2026 marking an end to the six-month project. This will mark an end to ground delays at the airport, as airlines and aircraft faced stricter arriving and departing restrictions as the airport operated with less operational capacity. For San Francisco International Airport, its biggest operators are United (with more than 50% market share), Alaska Airlines (8%), Delta Air Lines (7.8%), and American Airlines (7%), according to data from The Frequent Flyer. How The Upgrade Will Improve Airport On-Time Performance Credit: superjoseph | Shutterstock The upgrade will have a big impact on operations at the airport, with the number of planes that are able to land at the airport each hour increasing to 48 flights. The only real cause of delays at the airport should now be weather-related. While the increased arrival count doesn't mean that delays would disappear, this should mean that operations are smoother. The project at SFO was completed by Granite Construction, which was awarded as the primary contractor for the repaving and taxiway improvement projects. Granite had a number of subcontractors, including Royal Electric Company and Bass Electric. For travelers to and from San Francisco, the benefits of the runway upgrades will improve safety and reduce overall flight delays. Maintenance is required on airport runways due to the wear and tear of heavy aircraft utilization. A Snapshot Of SFO Operations Credit: ketanbhat | Shutterstock The airport has a robust network of more than 64 domestic and 52 international destinations. All in all, the 116 destinations are operated by a total of 60 unique operators, including 13 domestic and 50 international. As already mentioned, the airport is United Airlines' largest West Coast hub, and the center of its Pacific operations. The airport is also an operating base for Alaska Airlines. Between July 2025 and June 2026, data from The Frequent Flyer identifies the airport's busiest domestic routes as Los Angeles (LAX), with more than 1.39 million passengers, followed by Chicago (ORD) at 994,000 and New York JFK (JFK) with 955,000 passengers. Other notable domestic destinations in the top ten include Newark (EWR), Denver (DEN), Las Vegas (LAS), Seattle (SEA), San Diego (SAN), Boston (BOS) and Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW). The busiest international routes from the airport in the same period were to Taipei (TPE) with 1.25 million passengers, London Heathrow (LHR) with 1.04 million, and Hong Kong (HKG) with 914,000 passengers. Other notable mentions include Vancouver (YVR), Seoul (ICN), Frankfurt (FRA), Tokyo Narita (NRT), Manila (MNL), Singapore (SIN), and Toronto (YYZ). San Francisco (SFO) is the second busiest airport in the state of California and is located around 12 miles (19 km) from downtown San Francisco. It is the 13th busiest airport in the United States (2025) and the 32nd busiest in the world for passenger traffic, according to Airport Councils International.