SFO brings forward runway upgrade to take advantage of reduced traffic

San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is moving forward a runway improvement project by two years to take advantage of the current reduced flight activity resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The gateway has decided to act now and complete the project in October 2020 instead of 2022 as originally planned as it believes that it will never get a better opportunity to carry out the work, which is in an area where multiple runways intersect.

The project will repave a section of Runway 28R, where it intersects with two other runways, 1L and 1R. This will require the closure of two of SFO’s four runways for a period of eight days from October 8th to 15th 2020. All runways are expected to be reopened by Friday, October 16, 2020.

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SFO notes that its airlines are currently planning to operate about 40% of the flights originally scheduled prior to the pandemic.

During the 8-day runway closures, Airport officials expect about 30% of all flights to experience delays, with most delays occurring on flights scheduled between 9:00am to 12:00 noon and 5:00pm to 8:00pm.

SFO recommends that travellers opt for early morning flights before 9:00am PDT during this period, as delays are expected to begin after 9:00am PDT each day during the closure.

See also - ALL NEWS FOR THE DAY

The contract for the Runway 28R Rehabilitation Phase 1 project was awarded to Golden Gate Constructors. The total project cost is expected to be USD 10 million.