Is there a ground stop at SFO today?
No ground stop at SFO right now (as of 1:54 PM PST, Nov 6): the FAA lists no ground stop, ground delay program or delays for San Francisco International Airport. In the last 12 months the FAA issued 77 ground stops and 255 ground delay programs for SFO, holding flights on 214 days.
Live FAA delay status for San Francisco International Airport (KSFO, San Francisco, CA): ground stops, ground delay programs and delays right now, what the FAA has listed for SFO recently, and how often flights here actually run late.
No: the FAA is not reporting a ground stop at SFO right now.
FAA NAS Status lists no ground stop, ground delay program, or delay event for San Francisco Intl. Checked Nov 6, 2026 · 2154Z (1:54 PM PST); this page refreshes about every two minutes.
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Why SFO gets delayed
No airport in the country spent more of the year under FAA programs than San Francisco. In the 12 months to October 2026 the FAA held SFO-bound flights on 213 days, with 258 ground delay programs and 77 ground stops. The reason is geometry. SFO's two main landing runways are only 750 feet apart, close enough that side-by-side approaches need good visibility. When the marine layer pushes low clouds over the Bay, the arrival rate drops sharply and the FAA meters flights at their origins.
That makes SFO's delays a morning event: 70% of its ground delay programs started between 7 and 11 AM, and July, June and May were the busiest months. The typical program ran 4 h 19 min with an average delay of 50 minutes. About 40% of the programs carried no specific cause in the FAA's advisories, but most follow the same morning pattern. Wind added another 10%, and a 16 h 21 min wind program on December 23, 2025 was the longest of the year.
Written by the ATIS Alerts team from FAA Command Center advisories (October 2025 to October 2026), BTS airline on-time data (June 2025 to May 2026) and 20 years of hourly weather observations. Updated October 2026.
How long SFO delays usually last
Every FAA ground stop and ground delay program for SFO from Nov 6, 2025 to Nov 5, 2026, rebuilt from the FAA Command Center's own advisories.
Ground delay programs
255Ground stops
77Flights to SFO were held by at least one FAA program on 214 days in the last year. 58% of the stops and programs began between 7 AM and 11 AM local time.
What triggered them
SFO ground stops and delay programs by month
| Month | Ground stops | Delay programs | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| December 2025 | 6 | 13 | 19 |
| January 2026 | 4 | 5 | 9 |
| February 2026 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| March 2026 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| April 2026 | 8 | 32 | 40 |
| May 2026 | 10 | 33 | 43 |
| June 2026 | 12 | 37 | 49 |
| July 2026 | 7 | 42 | 49 |
| August 2026 | 6 | 32 | 38 |
| September 2026 | 5 | 22 | 27 |
| October 2026 | 4 | 15 | 19 |
| November 2026 to dateplus Nov 6-30, 2025 | 8 | 15 | 23 |
The busiest month was June, with 49 ground stops and delay programs combined.
Source: FAA ATCSCC advisory database (fly.faa.gov), every ground stop and ground delay program advisory the FAA Command Center issued for SFO, rebuilt daily by ATIS Alerts.
Best time of day to fly out of SFO
Airline departures scheduled before 9 AM left on time 92% of the time, against 71% for those scheduled noon to 3 PM. By weekday, Tuesday was the most reliable (83%) and Sunday the least (76%). BTS on-time data, June 2025 to May 2026; on time = within 15 minutes.
Recent FAA events at SFO
Ground stops and delay programs the FAA has listed for SFO in the last 90 days, from ATIS Alerts' own log of FAA NAS Status.
- Departure DelaysNov 3, 2026 · 1935Z (11:35 AM PST)lasted 2h 40m · wx:wind · avg delay 15 min
- Ground Delay ProgramNov 3, 2026 · 1630Z (8:30 AM PST)lasted 12h 11m · wind · avg delay 114 min
- Ground StopNov 3, 2026 · 1618Z (8:18 AM PST)lasted 43 min · wind
- Ground Delay ProgramNov 2, 2026 · 0251Z (6:51 PM PST)lasted 1h 25m · other · avg delay 62 min
- Ground StopNov 2, 2026 · 0207Z (6:07 PM PST)lasted 59 min · staffing
- Departure DelaysOct 27, 2026 · 1610Z (9:10 AM PDT)lasted 2h 35m · wx:low ceilings · avg delay 15 min
- Ground Delay ProgramOct 27, 2026 · 1515Z (8:15 AM PDT)lasted 2h 51m · low ceilings · avg delay 39 min
- Departure DelaysOct 26, 2026 · 1620Z (9:20 AM PDT)lasted 45 min · wx:low ceilings · avg delay 15 min
- Ground Delay ProgramOct 26, 2026 · 1500Z (8:00 AM PDT)lasted 3h 46m · low ceilings · avg delay 58 min
- Ground StopOct 26, 2026 · 0230Z (7:30 PM PDT)lasted 1h 1m · other
- Ground Delay ProgramOct 23, 2026 · 1500Z (8:00 AM PDT)lasted 6h 21m · low ceilings · avg delay 57 min
- Ground Delay ProgramOct 22, 2026 · 1530Z (8:30 AM PDT)lasted 14h 36m · low ceilings · avg delay 89 min
- Ground Delay ProgramOct 22, 2026 · 0200Z (7:00 PM PDT)ended · low ceilings · avg delay 53 min
- Departure DelaysOct 21, 2026 · 2200Z (3:00 PM PDT)lasted 4h 35m · rwy:maintenance · avg delay 15 min
- Ground Delay ProgramOct 19, 2026 · 1530Z (8:30 AM PDT)lasted 4h 26m · low ceilings · avg delay 55 min
- Ground Delay ProgramOct 19, 2026 · 0343Z (8:43 PM PDT)lasted 2h 18m · low ceilings · avg delay 58 min
- Ground StopOct 19, 2026 · 0300Z (8:00 PM PDT)lasted 56 min · low ceilings
- Ground Delay ProgramOct 17, 2026 · 0200Z (7:00 PM PDT)lasted 2h 11m · other · avg delay 50 min
- Departure DelaysOct 16, 2026 · 2140Z (2:40 PM PDT)lasted 1h 15m · rwy:construction · avg delay 30 min
- Departure DelaysOct 16, 2026 · 2055Z (1:55 PM PDT)lasted 5 min · tm initiatives:mit:vol · avg delay 30 min
- Departure DelaysOct 16, 2026 · 2020Z (1:20 PM PDT)lasted 15 min · vol:multi-taxi · avg delay 30 min
- Departure DelaysOct 15, 2026 · 1825Z (11:25 AM PDT)lasted 55 min · vol:multi-taxi · avg delay 15 min
- Ground StopOct 15, 2026 · 1545Z (8:45 AM PDT)lasted 1h 1m · airport volume
- Ground Delay ProgramOct 12, 2026 · 0200Z (7:00 PM PDT)lasted 2h 56m · runway construction · avg delay 34 min
- Ground Delay ProgramOct 10, 2026 · 1615Z (9:15 AM PDT)lasted 5h 56m · low ceilings · avg delay 29 min
Durations are the time the FAA kept the event listed. Log complete from 2026-09-22; older rows are the last event of each type seen by the ATIS Alerts bot since 2026-07-22.
How often is SFO delayed?
Airline on-time performance at SFO, Jun 2025 to May 2026, from the US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
145,970 scheduled airline arrivals and 145,890 departures in the period. Best month: Mar 2026 (83.1% on time); worst: May 2026 (53.9%). 45% of arrival delay minutes were charged to weather or the National Airspace System, the categories a ground stop or ground delay program falls under.
On-time arrivals by month
Bar = share of arrivals within 15 minutes of schedule; largest month had 13,147 arrivals.
What caused the delays
- 41%National Airspace System (ATC, volume, non-extreme weather)
- 29%Late-arriving aircraft
- 26%Airline (crew, maintenance, ground handling)
- 4%Extreme weather
- 0%Security
Shares of delay minutes on arrivals 15+ minutes late, as reported by the carriers to the DOT.
Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) Airline On-Time Performance (reporting carriers; regional, cargo, and general aviation flights are not included). Published about two months after each month ends.
Weather at KSFO right now
Weather drives most ground stops: thunderstorms, low ceilings, wind and snow.
METAR KSFO 062056Z 05003KT 10SM SCT200 18/13 A3011 RMK AO2 SLP197 T01780133 58018 VISNO $
Active FAA events nearby
Other airports in California with a delay event right now.
SFO ground stop FAQ
Is there a ground stop at SFO today?
No ground stop at SFO right now (as of 1:54 PM PST, Nov 6): the FAA lists no ground stop, ground delay program or delays for San Francisco International Airport. This page rechecks the FAA's NAS Status feed about every two minutes.
How do I know if SFO has a ground stop right now?
The banner at the top of this page reads the FAA's NAS Status feed about every two minutes. A red banner means the FAA currently lists a ground stop for San Francisco Intl; green means it does not. The official source is nasstatus.faa.gov.
How many ground stops has SFO had in the last year?
In the last 12 months the FAA issued 77 ground stops and 255 ground delay programs for SFO, holding flights on 214 days. Source: the FAA Command Center's advisory database (fly.faa.gov).
How long do ground stops at SFO last?
In the last 12 months the FAA issued 77 ground stops for SFO. The typical one lasted 1 h 16 min, and the middle half ran 1 h 10 min to 1 h 24 min. Ground delay programs run longer: 255 of them, typically 4 h 23 min with an average delay of 50 minutes.
Does a ground stop mean my flight is cancelled?
No. It means departures to SFO are held, not cancelled. Airlines cancel on their own when the backlog cannot be recovered, so watch your carrier's updates alongside this page.
⚠️ Informational only. FAA NAS Status is the authoritative source for delay programs; your airline or dispatch governs your flight. ATIS Alerts is not affiliated with the FAA.