San Francisco International Airport (SFO) has two pairs of runways intersecting each other near the middle. One pair (28L/10R and 28R/10L) runs east to west while the other (1L/19R and 1R/19L) run north to south.

For most of the year, you’d see departures from 1L and 1R, with arrivals being conducted via the 28s (with heavier aircraft using the 28s for departures if they need more runway length). Prior to the end of March 2026, San Francisco typically saw up to 54 arrivals per hour, with many aircraft landing parallel to each other like in the video below.

Spectacular Parallel Landing at San Francisco Int´l Airport SFO

Unfortunately, San Francisco’s controllers have been under pressure dealing with controller shortages. Due to the fall out following the January 2025 mid-air crash at Washington National Airport, as well as ongoing runway works, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reduced the arrival limit to just 36 arrivals per hour, and banned parallel landings.

In response to the crash, the FAA stopped permitting simultaneous approaches because SFO’s parallel runways are only 750 feet apart, considerably less than the normal spacing required for independent simultaneous operations. The reduced limit is also attributed to the closure of runway 1R/19L which is undergoing repaving and improvement works. As 1L/19R has already been repaved, it is being used exclusively as a taxiway, with all departures and arrivals now being filtered via the 28s.

After losing up to one-third of its landing capacity, there was a general increase in both departures and arrivals in the past few months, with at least one-third of flights being delayed by as much as 15 minutes, when compared to data from 2025.

A few months later and we are finally hearing some good news. The SF Chronicle is reporting that the FAA has relaxed the approach limit, and will allow up to 42 arrivals per hour by the end of August 2026. This increase is possible as arrivals will be staggered. While one aircraft approaches one runway, the second aircraft will be allowed to approach via the parallel runway but must remain longitudinally behind the first.

Because they are diagonally separated, the approaches will be allowed to overlap, allowing controllers to alternate arrivals via tight sequencing between 28L and 28R. On the other hand, weather conditions must be good, and if there is reduced visibility, they will revert to lower arrival numbers.

In a statement, SFO spokesperson Doug Yakel said:

“On August 12th, the FAA will implement a revised procedure to allow for staggered parallel landings at SFO. While this will not fully restore the arrival rate we had when true side-by-side landings were permitted, this is nonetheless a step in the right direction.”

The FAA plans to further relax the limit in the fall once 1R/19L is reopened, and we could possibly see numbers near or above 50 arrivals per hour when the staggered approach is in full effect.

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