SFO's Runway 1R Reopens After Six-Month, $215 Million Improvement Project
Why It MattersThe reopening highlights how runway construction combined with FAA separation-procedure changes can compound airport delays well beyond the physical closure period alone.
San Francisco International Airport (SFO) has reopened Runway 1 Right after a six-month closure for repaving and related upgrades, with officials projecting fewer delays as hourly arrival capacity increases. The closure, combined with a procedural restriction the FAA imposed in March, had cut arrivals from 54 to 36 per hour; with the runway back in service and revised FAA parallel-landing procedures now in place, SFO expects arrivals to reach between 45 and 48 per hour.
SFO said the FAA's initial procedural change, which suspended parallel arrivals on the airport's east-west runways, had a bigger impact on delays than the repaving itself. The FAA said it made that call after an internal review found existing procedures did not align with its aircraft separation standards, and it later modified its position to allow staggered arrivals.
During the closure, workers poured 200,000 tons of asphalt, replaced 64 miles of electrical cable, installed 2,440 new light fixtures, and repainted markings, signage and guidance signs. The project cost approximately $215 million, of which $92.1 million was funded by the FAA.
